The morning after

Well the deed is done the vote has taken place and the people living in Scotland decided that to stay in the Union was the better thing. On a personal note I'm glad of that. I feel more secure in these islands today than I did yesterday. This said the morning after has brought some tough questions and made me feel energised for a fight that needs fighting.

We are a proud set of nations England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland and we share so much common heritage and ground. We share also many common causes but as Scotland has so eloquently shown us we are proud of our mother countries'. And so we should be for there is nothing wrong in supporting the country of your birth and wanting the best for it even if you spend most of your time living elsewhere. Which of course immediately brings me to Andy Murray. Yes he has his faults like any other human being but being proud to be British does not mean he cannot be Scottish too. He felt that the negative campaigning of the No campaign made his mind up to support the Yes campaign and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. He has a right to share his opinion and support what he sees as the right thing. Do not decry him for that ever, for that is what democracy is about. If we fail to live up to our support of democracy then what is the point?

This brings me to my second thought, Federalism.

Now that the Scottish have shown us that debate can take place it is time for real debate to take place about the way this set of nations should go forward. What is right for London may not be right for Tavistock. What is right for Glasgow may not be right for Great Yarmouth, what is right for Birmingham may not be right for Belfast and what is right for Newport may not be right for Newcastle. We have many differing regions within this United Kingdom and in a space that is so small we have more diversity than the United States in many ways. Whilst I disagree with Alex Salmond and Nicola Sturgeon on the matter of Independence they genuinely and passionately believe that Scotland should not be controlled by Westminster. For my part so do I on the majority of things. However the biggest mistake made by Margaret Thatcher was stripping out the infrastructure of this great nation and in doing so ultimately this meant that there would be more reliance upon centralisation of Government.

The people of Cornwall know what is best for them just as the people of Manchester know what is best for them. Londonderry and Leicester have challenges that are locally understood but their responses are diminished by centralisation. People have given up on politics because of this and so we become tied into small battlegrounds.

It's time to do away with the idea that decisions cannot be made locally. We need more local control. And that local power should feed directly into the UK Government structure. Now I'm not suggesting that we go back to the old dark days of the 1980s when Militant strode across the landscape as fast as Degsy Hatton could carry it, and remember I lived in Liverpool then so I know how sickening that was. London has progressed well under it's own steam and whilst there are disagreements and arguments generally London now is better than when I moved there to live in the late 1980s. Then I look at Bristol, somewhere where I work a lot, and I despair. Why? you cry. Why? Because the independent Mayor acts like a tyrant there and there is no fundamental way of stopping him. So what we need is a total rethink. Regional assemblies for England strengthening local power, a beefing up of power for Wales and Northern Ireland but everything with the appropriate checks and balances. Whilst the US is no arbiter of the right way the Federal system there allows for all States to be part of a whole yet control power locally and please remember that California is heading towards being as populous as England give or take a few million.

And does Federalism mean we have to do away with a Monarch? Absolutely not all we need to do is reinvent the idea of what Federalism is. Does it mean we have to be closer in political ties to the EU? Absolutely not because there would still be an overriding Government that was responsible for things such as Foreign Policy, Defence, Border control, Power and Water.

If this debate in Scotland has taught us anything it has taught us that people can still be switched on to voting and come out in their droves if the subject is important to them. What we need to do is take on board this morning after what we have learned from the debate and turn it into something positive. Don't allow Westminster to slip back into the old degenerative ways, stand, be strong and start challenging people on a new way of life on these shores.

It is time for Britain to be Great again and it is time for a move into unchartered territories exploring areas of our nation that may be uncomfortable.