LABOUR’S DEVIOUS DAN JARVIS AND HIS
DODGY DEVOLUTION DOSSIER
In the
best Blairite traditions, the EU Remainiac, Dan Jarvis, who ironically is the
MP for the strongly Leave constituency, Barnsley Central, got his debate on
Yorkshire devolution last Wednesday afternoon in the Westminster Hall annex to
Parliament. Here is a link to the record
of that debate from Hansard >>>
It is
lucky for Dan Jarvis that the debate took place in Westminster Hall rather than
on the floor of the House of Commons, as then he might be in trouble for
misleading the House of Commons.
In the
debate he said:-
“Barnsley and Doncaster made their voices
heard. Some 85% voted in favour of a wider Yorkshire deal,
The marching orders are thus: go back to the
Government and get the deal the people want.
It is absolutely right that we listen to what the
people have told us”
“My constituents were very clear about what they
were voting for—a wider Yorkshire deal—because they believed that that would be
in their economic interests.”
“Indeed, if we are prepared to ignore an 85%
majority, what does that say about the state of our democracy?”
“They were very clear in what they said, and it
would be wrong for them to be ignored”
“I do not say for one moment that Yorkshire and the
Humber should be a special case, but I do believe—I make no apologies for
stating it in these terms—that it is a special place. There is something
special about what John Sentamu described this morning as God’s own
county. There is a huge strength in our diversity. If we could
create an arrangement that brought together 5.3 million people into an
economy bigger than 11 EU nations, we would truly be a force to be
reckoned with, not just in this country but around the world. In the far
east—China, Japan or wherever—people know about Yorkshire.”
Since the
last thing that Barnsley and Doncaster people want is to be dominated
politically by Sheffield it is not surprising that many of them voted for their
county to be the devolved body.
Even so
out of a total electorate of Yorkshire and the Humber region of 3,835.075 only 41,952
“votes” have now been made for “One Yorkshire” devolution.
In
Barnsley, 40,280 residents took part in the “community poll” - that's 22.4% of
the electorate. Of those, 34,015 (84.9%) chose “One Yorkshire”, while 6,064
(15.1%) opted for Sheffield City Region.
Meanwhile
in Doncaster, 45,470 residents voted - a turnout of 20.1%. Of those, 38,551 (84.7%)
came out in favour of “One Yorkshire”, with only 6,685 (14.7%) preferring “Sheffield
City Region”.
For Mr
Jarvis to talk about 85% as if that was of the whole electorate and to make
remarks about democracy, can only be sensibly described as disingenuous and
deceitful. The total number of people
who participated in the consultation was only 85,750, the total number people
who voted for “One Yorkshire” devolution was 72,566. That is not only less than 85% of the
consultations but also is just over 1% of the electorate of Yorkshire and
Humberside!
It is also
interesting, when considering Dan Jarvis’ deviousness and disingenuousness, to
pick up the way he jumps from talking about the county of Yorkshire, which even
so is not all the historic county of Yorkshire to “Yorkshire and the Humber”. Yorkshire and the Humber is of course the
name of the EU “Region” which includes North Lincolnshire, but does not
include, for example, Middlesbrough.
In doing
this he, of course, gives his game away.
He as discussed in the previous article on this blog, is not a patriot
or even a Yorkshire nationalist but is a “Europeanist” or Europhile who is
looking at ways to try to break up the integrity of not only the UK, but also
England, in continuing to push for Regionalisation, as per the EU’s Regionalisation
project.
Mr Jarvis
not only has no care for our Nation in pursuing this project, but also he would
appear not to even care for his own constituents in Barnsley Central, since if
England was in fact effectively Regionalised there would be every chance that
the politicians of each “Region” would be wanting to hang onto all the tax take
of their “Region” and this would be very likely to mean that there would be a
dramatic reduction in the Government subsidy to people in Yorkshire.
Again Mr
Jarvis is deceitful in his use of the statistics as to what way Yorkshire
stands on the level of subsidy, since he quotes a comparison to UK subsidies
and thus the vastly inflated subsidies of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland
under the Barnett Formula rather than looking at the average level of
Government spending across England only.
The other
thing about Mr Jarvis’ focus on devolution for Yorkshire and Humber is that he
and his other “Europeanists” do not seem to have learnt from the fiasco of their
attempt to try and entrench Regional Assemblies in “Yorkshire” and in the “North
East”. It was the very fact that the
proposed regionalisation for Yorkshire was not the traditional county but
instead the EU Region of Yorkshire and the Humber which led to the proposal for
Yorkshire and the Humber being so unpopular that John Prescott did not even try
to have a referendum there, but instead went for the only “Region” where he
thought he had any chance, which was the “North East”. Even then his proposal utterly flopped at the
ballot box - getting only 29% support!
As it says
in Proverbs, Chapter 26, Verse 11:- “As a dog that returns to his vomit, so is
a fool who repeats his folly”. So can we
say to devious Dan “Ay up lad! Sup up!?”
Here are all the
comments which Mr Jarvis said in the debate which I found to be
“interesting”.
What do you
think?
Here they are the extracts
from his comments:- “All of us here have a responsibility to work
co-operatively together to best serve the interests of our region.
A constructive way forward for a future devolved
settlement for Yorkshire
people of Barnsley and Doncaster made their
voices heard. Some 85% voted in favour of a wider Yorkshire deal,
The marching orders are thus: go back to the
Government and get the deal the people want.
It is absolutely right that we listen to what the
people have told us.
The status quo is not delivering. People are
disillusioned, and they have a right to feel that way.
Not only do the people of Yorkshire receive an
income that is 80% of the national average, but they also receive £300 per head
less in terms of public spending,
Secretary of the State to send the strongest signal
of intent to the north of England that they are listening to what people are
saying, and are prepared to make decisions that best serve those people’s
interests.
This Friday in York, the coalition of the
willing—leaders from across our area—will meet to reaffirm their support for
the wider Yorkshire proposal.
I do understand why people in our region are
disillusioned and angry.
We need a new economic and political settlement that
involves genuine devolution of political and economic power that will spread
prosperity and opportunity to towns and counties of all regions.
The solution must be as ambitious as the challenge
is profound. That is why I believe that a wider Yorkshire deal is the way
forward. By working together across the whole of our county and, like in the
west midlands, not being confined to just one city, we would have the
collective clout and the brand reputation to co-operate and compete not only
with other parts of the UK, but with other parts of the world.
My constituents were very clear about what they were
voting for—a wider Yorkshire deal—because they believed that that would be in
their economic interests.
Could not have agreed more. Both nationally and
internationally, a single Mayor would provide the single voice required to
unlock the much-needed new investment. That is critically required in areas
such as our transport system.
A wider Yorkshire combined authority directing
investment decisions and using its purchasing power to negotiate
Devolution is about more than just transport
infrastructure. It is about accessing funding for skills and training, building
affordable homes, and preserving our unique culture, countryside and heritage
by working together, harnessing our talents, combining our energies and
maximising our influence, all of which is in reach.
The sense of place, community and belonging that
comes from identifying with Yorkshire is, in many ways, our greatest
asset.
That will take more time, so first we need an
interim solution not only to preserve the goal of a wider Yorkshire deal,
Indeed, if we are prepared to ignore an 85%
majority, what does that say about the state of our democracy?
They were very clear in what they said, and it would
be wrong for them to be ignored, not least because the Secretary of State was
right when he told the Local Government Association that the driving force
behind devolution is the desire to bring decision making to a more local
level.
This is not a political argument, in the sense that
there is cross-party support.
As part of the coalition of the willing, some
people have said to me that we should press for a wider Yorkshire settlement
earlier than 2020,
I do not say for one moment that Yorkshire and the
Humber should be a special case, but I do believe—I make no apologies for
stating it in these terms—that it is a special place. There is something
special about what John Sentamu described this morning as God’s own
county. There is a huge strength in our diversity. If we could
create an arrangement that brought together 5.3 million people into an
economy bigger than 11 EU nations, we would truly be a force to be
reckoned with, not just in this country but around the world. In the far
east—China, Japan or wherever—people know about Yorkshire. It means something
to them, and it means something to us. This is a once-in-a-generation
opportunity to put in place an arrangement that could be really meaningful for
the people we represent, and I very much hope that we will not miss out.
Where there is political will to make changes, it
should be entirely possible to do so".