“I’m from the government, and I’m here to help.” It was in 1986 that the late Ronald Reagan, then president of the United States, described these words as the nine most terrifying words in the English language. He expressed this view in a press conference given on 12 August 1986[1] and in the context of the US farming industry which, he said, had been badly affected by “conflicting and haphazard policies.” However, his comments are just as relevant to the UK today as to the USA in 1986, if not more so.
I was reminded of Reagan’s words during the Christmas break after watching a YouTube video[2] by David Kurten, leader of the Heritage Party, about the proposal for “town boards” in 55 areas designated by Michael Gove, the levelling-up minister, for regeneration. According to a related policy document,[3] these boards “will fundamentally change the way politics works by putting local communities in control.” Kurten is very quick to pour cold water on such glib promises. He points out that Town Boards will not be elected, as are local councils. Each board will have a chair APPOINTED by a local authority, at a cost of £50K per chair. Nice work if you can get it! There is a requirement for someone from the local police and the local council, and the local MP, to be on the board. But an unlimited number of places on the board can be given to whoever the chair thinks fit.
“Everything has its price, nothing more so than government financial assistance.”
Why should we be wary of this? These towns, mostly very deprived areas, will be given £20million of funding over the coming years. Isn’t that to be welcomed? Err….with government grants of that nature, as a rule of thumb, be extremely careful what you wish for. Everything has its price, nothing more so than government financial assistance. Kurten anticipates that these boards will be stacked with people whose views are not representative of the mainstream. Policy capture by climate activists, or property developers, to name but two groups, is a likely outcome. The former tend to have views out of step with the majority and are notorious for a visceral hatred of true democracy, the latter have an obvious vested financial interest. I have covered in a previous blog the lethal danger of policy capture in any form of government organisation.[4] Kurten points out, quite correctly, that many of the towns earmarked for boards are run-down thanks to extreme climate-change policies which have restricted vehicular movement on those town centres, killing off businesses in the process. The last thing that places like Hastings and Hartlepool need are further doses of “active travel” (a euphemism for the banning of some, if not all, motorised transport on bogus planet-saving grounds), nor do they need ugly, poorly constructed, high rise buildings which have so often been the only sign of regeneration in previous projects of this type.
Another likely development is the establishment of “town mayors” who will have the same powers as the mayors of major cities such as London and Manchester. Won’t this bring about more local democracy? Don’t you believe it! The amount that you will need to put up to stand for such positions will be £5,000. This tips the playing field in favour of the rich from the start. It costs nothing to stand as a prospective councillor in a local authority area. One could argue forever about how democratic local authorities are, but what’s beyond debate is that ordinary citizens have, at least in theory, the chance to vote them out and replace them by someone more in tune with their views. That option is not even available in theory with town boards.
Governments are good at promising their citizens a utopia, but they are equally good at concealing the real price that ordinary people pay. Who wouldn’t want zero deaths and serious injuries on the roads? Or zero carbon emissions? Or zero COVID? These are but three examples of the kind of utopian promises that governments round the world have made. They are very seductive…until you realise that you, the ordinary citizen, will pay for them in terms of higher taxes and dramatically restricted freedom of movement. To how many ordinary people are such high prices really affordable? Evidence suggests very few.
May I wish my followers a happy and successful 2024. But at the risk of sounding like “your Daddy,” beware of governments bearing gifts.
[1] The President’s News Conference | Ronald Reagan (reaganlibrary.gov)
[2] Town Boards – Unelected Change Agents Taking Power in 55 UK Towns (youtube.com)
[3] Long-Term Plan for Towns: guidance for local authorities and Town Boards – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
[4] THE CORROSIVE EFFECT OF POLICY CAPTURE – DAVID LAWES (wordpress.com)
DAVID LAWES 