Rebalancing power away from Westminster is vital

John Harris is right (The rest of the country will suffer so long as Westminster holds the purse strings, 26 October) – we need to think about what sort of Britain we need to overcome the huge regional inequalities in the UK, and England in particular. The rows between the mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, and Westminster indicate a sea change in attitudes towards our centralised state. While Burnham and the other city-region mayors represent a move towards regional democracy, it remains partial. They are elected as individuals, without the democratic backup that the devolved nations in the UK have.

Harris refers to the German model of local and regional democracy – we have so much to learn from it. The German regions are political entities, not individual fiefdoms, and have strong powers. Effective local government works as a partner with the regional tier. England desperately needs regional government that takes power out of the centre. That means a massive rebalancing of power with, ultimately, a federal solution that would be acceptable to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Prof Paul Salveson
Hannah Mitchell Foundation, Bolton

• John Harris writes of “a sustained assault on city and local government” that reached a peak in the Thatcher era, which was when unbridled free-market fundamentalism took hold. No local authorities could be trusted to pursue that government project. Of course, this is still the plan: to maximise corporate profit and bid farewell to the welfare state. So expect no change unless we force it. A rigged corporate trade deal with the US is the final move. Preventing that has to be our target, and we can achieve it – we stopped the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership. As local authorities start to rise up, this is the time to do it.
John Airs
Liverpool

• The abolition of the Greater London Council and other metropolitan councils was an act of spite by the Thatcher government to dismantle opposition to her policies. We need English metropolitan and regional councils large enough to take responsibility for health, social care, education, housing, policing and fire services. But, as Harris says, they must have tax-raising powers. Currently, central government grants are used as a method of controlling local authorities. There must also be a voice for the constituent parts of the UK in Westminster – perhaps by replacing the Lords with an assembly directly or indirectly elected from the Scottish and Welsh parliaments, the Northern Ireland assembly and the English regional councils.
Richard Ross
London

• After 60 years of activism, I have concluded that England has to look after itself, and the foundation for this has to be in local political parties that cut across traditional party lines. I know from experience that people of all political persuasions can work together, especially when it comes to local and regional matters. We need a parliament of localists – which means locally based parties fielding candidates in parliamentary elections – committed to achieving the changes that Harris and millions of others support.
Robert Howard
Beeston, Nottinghamshire

• While I agree about the rubbishing of the north, being a northerner by origin myself, the neglect applies just as much to many London boroughs, including my own – Greenwich. We have lost £125m over the last nine years and more than 2,000 children are living in poverty, while many go to school hungry.
Jane Lawson
London