Incompetence in the centre is proving the need for more powerful and more accountable local politicians
Boris Johnson should appreciate the importance to voters of feeling connected to centres of power. After all, he headed the pro-Brexit campaign that made such effective use of a promise to “take back control” from Brussels. But the prime minister did not anticipate an appetite for taking control back from Westminster – from him. Britain has a tradition of highly centralised government. There are many layers of devolved institutions, but the rhetoric of putting real power in the hands of local communities always runs ahead of the reality.
The pandemic has exposed gaps and disparities. Measures taken by the governments of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have diverged from the English system because health is a devolved matter. The prime minister finds his reach truncated on the biggest issue facing the UK. In the public eye, Edinburgh and Cardiff have grown at London’s expense. That is frustrating for Mr Johnson, which would explain in part why he has been so reluctant to deal with English regions as equal partners in developing local pandemic responses. Fear of ceding any more power, combined with temperamental mistrust of anyone outside a tiny circle of advisers, has led to friction between No 10 and leaders in the areas worst affected.
