Richard Spring MP
Member of Parliament for West Suffolk

When this Government tends to abolish things, many of us are justifiably concerned and speak out publicly over the loss of many of our freedoms – for examples, the right to be tried by a jury, the right to protest, the right to be brought before a court if you are charged with a criminal offence.

However, on this occasion, I welcome the Government’s plans in principle to abolish the East of England Regional Assembly, unaffectionately known as EERA. This bureaucracy has made no actual difference to the day-to-day lives of people living in Suffolk and was simply yet another tier of government. We already have parish councils, town councils, district councils, county councils, and then to have EERA placed on top of all this has been a disaster.

My constituents and I have particular reason to be pleased at this news because EERA, for all its bureaucratic wrangling, did have powers relating to overseeing planning, investment and transport in the region. It was under this remit that I personally experienced one of the worst decisions made during my time as a Member of Parliament. The A11 which runs through my constituency has been classified as one of the most dangerous roads in the country, responsible for countless serious injuries and fatalities. One of the reasons is that it is currently only a single carriageway during one section of the road and I have been campaigning for the past decade to secure the Government funding to dual the road. Shockingly, at the end of 2005, EERA made a recommendation to the Government to push this scheme back by at least five years, without once informing me as the MP that this was their intention. I learned about it six months later when it was publicly announced by the Roads Minister. I was appalled that a project which was of vital importance to the safety of my constituents was simply sidelined without any consultation with directly elected representatives.

Many of the powers of EERA will be passed to the East of England Regional Development Agency and their Chairman, Richard Ellis has now stated that key schemes such as the A11 “will be an even higher priority”. This is welcome news for all those who use the road and I now welcome working together with all interested parties to make this a reality.

Bright and early tomorrow morning I shall be heading to the studios in Westminster to take part in a discussion panel television programme called “The Late Edition” which covers current political issues in the East Anglia region. One of the topics up for debate is the abolition of regional assemblies. 

I am particularly pleased that the Conservative Party has stated that it is resolutely committed to removing this tier of Government which is far removed from ordinary people and their daily lives. 

I know that people feel an affinity with their town or village, and indeed their county – however, very few people could be said to feel an attachment in any real sense to “the East of England” – especially if the East of England stretches as far as Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire. 

You can be certain that I shall be firmly making this point tomorrow, but, as with so much in the modern media, there is an obsession with compiling lists. 

That is why I wanted to set out here the “Top 5” reasons for why we should abolish regional assemblies:

1. They are unelected and unaccountable

2. They are expensive and bureaucratic

3. They have taken powers away from local councils

4. They are unpopular and have no mandate (eg. defeated referendum in the north east)

5. They are part of a broader regional agenda which is failing (eg shelved police mergers)  

I read today in the East Anglian Daily Times that the Chief Executive of the East of England Regional Assembly, Brian Stewart, was attempting to “set the record straight” about his organisation.

Many people in Suffolk may remember the huge row which resulted from EERA deciding to delay the funding for the long-awaited dualling along the notorious stretch of the A11 – one of the most dangerous roads in the country. On that occasion, as the local Member of Parliament, I was not consulted or informed of this decision until the Transport Minister detailed the plans himself.

Yet, Mr Stewart claims that “the assembly has been successful in promoting a region-wide consensus to deal with issues like transport…” – how detached can these regional bureaucrats actually be?

On this point, I feel I need to do little more than let his words speak for themselves:

“The assembly is, therefore, more akin to a regional strategic partnership – similar to the local strategic partnerships of elected members and local stakeholders in counties and districts”.

If this explanation is the best way that the Chief Executive of EERA can summarise and justify what his whole organisation is for, then I feel further vindicated in my earlier calls for the whole body to be abolished as soon as possible.

It is remote and unelected and simply adds to the lack of accountability so many people now feel about arms of the Government.