Why Vote Yes?

Decisions that affect the North West should be made in the North West, by the North West, for the North West.

• To make the North West a better place to live and work
• To increase democracy not wasteful bureaucracy
• To seize this opportunity, to take control of decision making and to show pride in the North West

Making the North West a better place to live and work

Change is necessary– the status quo lets the region down.

The survival rate for small businesses in the North West is lower than the national average; the unemployment rate is higher and there are fewer people ‘economically active’.

Too few people work in higher value-added jobs and the numbers of 16 & 17 year olds in full-time, post-compulsory education trails the national average, as does the number obtaining 5 A-C grade GCSE’s.

The Housing market is characterised by marked contrasts between the wealthy areas and some of the most deprived wards in the UK and the region as a whole suffers from an overburdened and malfunctioning transport infrastructure. The North West is capable of far more.

Putting the needs of the North West first

The gap between opportunities for people in the North West compared to the South East is widening daily.

The ‘brain-drain’ means that the region’s “brightest and best” are continually attracted away from the region.

To meet the needs of our communities and provide solutions for the region we need to break away from the ‘Whitehall knows best’ attitude.

Democracy not wasteful bureaucracy

The North West has a population of nearly seven million people and an economy worth some £60 billion - larger than countries such as Denmark and Ireland. Scotland, with a population of five million, has its own parliament; Wales a population of three million has its own assembly.

London has its own devolved assembly, but the North West lacks an accountable, strategic to improve its policy-making.

Between elected local government and elected national government there is already a huge chunk of regional government – unelected, unaccountable

Regional Governance - the status quo lets the region down

Regional Governance - the status quo lets the region down
Currently the Regional Development Agency, Regional Assembly, Government Office and many different central government agencies each control a different piece of an ill-fitting jigsaw. They make decisions about the North West and spend public money but there is no consideration of the overall picture - a recipe for poor decision-making, pointless duplication, inter-agency wrangling and delay.

A workshop not a talking shop

An Elected Assembly for the North West will receive a Government grant of £780 million, but it will have influence over a further £1.6 billion currently being spent by organisations with which it will work closely.

Changing politics as usual

A new assembly can help to change the way we do things. A regional assembly will provide many new opportunities for people to get involved in decisions that affect their communities. The Scottish Executive and London have Civic Forums, the Welsh Assembly has three partnership councils. The North West will decide on its own arrangements for involving stakeholders in the regional decision-making process.

Seizing this opportunity, to take control of decision making and to show pride in the North West

Pride in the North West

The people of the North West are its strongest asset and have never been afraid of seizing new ideas and new opportunities. When the people of the region take control they deliver. Manchester – rebuilt after the 1996 bomb, went on to hold the most successful Commonwealth Games ever. Liverpool – having been crowned European Capital of Culture, all set to be a huge triumph.

The cities, towns, countryside and coast of the North West each have strong communities with their own characteristics, a diversity of cultures, but it is in the best interests of all to collectively voice concerns to Whitehall, Westminster and beyond. Sometimes we can achieve more together than we can separately.

A strong legitimate voice

An Elected Regional Assembly would - for the first time - give the North West a strong and legitimate voice and an ability to demand a fairer deal for the region. Take the example of the National Football Stadium. London had a voice and used it to secure the stadium, the North West had no voice and was ignored. There are too many similar examples.