Dismantling a Nation Openly Bit by Bit
Regionalisation is actually at the end of a long project that began after WW2 to dismantle England.
It reached an inflection point under Tony Blair. This was not an accident. England’s demise has been carefully planned. Governments come and go, but the aim is still the same. The Blair-Brown plan has been pursued by the bureaucratic state diligently since the late 1990s.
The Devolved vs. Reserved Framework
So what was the plan?
Powers were either devolved or reserved. Devolved powers allow decisions to be made by the governments of Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. Some powers are partially devolved or partially reserved.
Reserved areas allow decisions to be made by the UK Parliament and Government. All decisions regarding England are made by the UK Parliament and voted on by MPs representing the other nations—leaving no sovereignty for England.
So what are reserved powers?
Reserved powers relate to the UK’s external affairs such as foreign relations and defence, as well as the constitution, immigration, and many aspects of economic policy.
However, the boundaries are inconsistent:
- Policing and justice are reserved powers under the Welsh devolution system, but devolved in Scotland and Northern Ireland.
- Social security benefits are entirely reserved in Wales, partially devolved in Scotland, and entirely devolved in Northern Ireland.
It is a mixed bag—designed to confuse.
England Ignored: The West Lothian Question
Devolution currently does not exist for England. Regionalisation is simply one of the tools used to strip England of her national sovereignty.
Allowing MPs from Scotland, Northern Ireland, and Wales to vote on issues that only affect England is fundamentally wrong, and the West Lothian question was hotly debated for years without resolution.
It seems obvious that reserved issues should only be shared matters like defence, immigration, foreign relations, and constitutional affairs. Yet some of these are shared by the British state with devolved administrations. In principle, the UK Government could overrule devolved legislation, but it routinely refrains from doing so.
What Is Devolved Elsewhere?
Devolved areas where the British state decides for England, while devolved parliaments decide for themselves, include:
- Health
- Education
- Environment
- Agriculture
- Culture
- Local government
- Public transport
The Scottish Parliament, the Senedd, and the Northern Ireland Assembly make laws on these matters. While the UK Parliament remains technically sovereign and could legislate in these areas, in practice it leaves the devolved nations alone while treating England as an afterthought.
What Next: Regionalisation and the Erosion of Accountability
Under the English devolution agenda, do not expect any change to the current trajectory. England is being regionalised into fragmented administrative authorities.
Decisions regarding the redistribution of power continue to take place behind closed doors. Estimates indicate that full regionalisation may be cemented by 2028. The government steers these processes to guarantee central control. It has nothing to do with genuine cost savings; there is no transparent cost-benefit analysis showing how or when public money will be saved. Ideology drives the process.
Challenging the Democratic Deficit
It is easy to feel disheartened by this democratic erosion, but silence only accelerates it. How many citizens take an active interest in local governance before a crisis hits? How many know their local councillors, attend council meetings, or hold their MP accountable beyond receiving automated template responses?
If you are prepared to investigate issues further, challenge perceived orthodoxies, and ask uncomfortable questions, you are doing your part to push back. Speaking out against top-down narratives disrupts political complacency and creates room for public accountability.
“Telling the truth in a time of deceit is a revolutionary act.”
