Alex Thomson to address Conservative MEPs in Brussels
Today Localis Chief Executive Alex Thomson will give a speech to MEPs on the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR)’s Joint Policy Group on Subsidiarity and Localism about how devolving powers to UK local authorities is crucial for supporting growth.
The speech entitled ‘Devolving for Growth: Lessons from the UK’ will talk about how over recent years the pendulum has swung away from centralism in the UK, with a particular focus on how Central Government in London has increasingly looked to the local level to help drive economic growth.
This recognition that power should be exercised at the lowest possible level is echoed in the EU principle of subsidiarity.
If we want to promote local growth, Alex will argue, the EU should consider which decision-making powers it currently has exercises could be better employed at a national, or ideally local, level.
The ECR Joint Policy Group on Subsidiarity and Localism, chaired by Andrew Lewer MBC MEP and co-chaired by Cllr Gordon Keymer CBE FCA, aims to ensure that political decisions are taken at the lowest practicable level.