Oh No John No John No john NO

John Osmond , director IWA , who doesn't live in the Valleys by the way says we need another layer of government ,is he crazy, what we need is to cut the number of Mayors councillors etc and merge some of the Councils we have in the Valleys. Osmond says that A DEMOCRATICALLY-elected mayor could be the key to regenerating the South Wales Valleys, does he or she get a magic wand John?
Inspired by the buzz surrounding this year’s London mayor contest won by Boris Johnson, the democratic post – a first for Wales – could energise and inspire political debate, according to an Institute of Welsh Affairs study.A mayor would also provide the Valleys with a strong executive arm to ensure that its problems are addressed in a more effective way. Could we not just sort out what we have to operate more efficiently?
IWA director and editor of the study, John Osmond, said: “One of the problems we face is democratic engagement.“If we had a contest of the kind we saw in London, with Boris and Ken and so on – if something like that could be replicated in the Valleys, it would give a new impetus to the need for change.” Um mm and who do you think we have who could be the protagonists - I cannot see any of that calibre.
Mr Osmond said there were widely shared aspirations for improving the Valleys but that missing from the equation was a “delivery mechanism to make these things happen, which is effective”. Don't we have a Valleys programme that is costing us squillions?
In his contribution to the study, Professor Steve Fothergill, of the Centre for Economic and Social research at Sheffield Hallam University and former Director of the Coalfields Communities Campaign, says the Heads of the Valleys has “the most intractable problems of any older industrial area in the whole of Britain”.
And he said that while there were no “short cuts to regeneration”, he called for the injection of “something special”.Steve call that JOBs that would be special , and I am talking real jobs well paid with prospects and with some decent wages.
The study notes that powers acquired by the London Mayor’s office have been devolved from central government rather than transferred upwards from the existing local authorities and recommends that this should be followed in the Valleys. Existing local government across the Valleys would continue to carry out its current range of functions, avoiding the necessity for a costly reorganisation, the study adds.Mr Osmond said it was possible that a referendum could be held on the issue.“It would certainly motivate a widespread debate about the desire for the idea,” he said.
The report says: “Imagine for instance, a contest that included Peter Hain for Labour, Ron Davies as an Independent, and Dafydd Wigley for Plaid Cymru.All yesterdays men Mr Osmond , what we need is new life , new ideas and new blood we need to regenerate for the next 50 years not the past 20.
The logistics of this are mind blowing and again are about a process, we in the Valleys need action, we are not short of process or structure or governance. Get some one who could attract industry , inspire hope and who has no political baggage a good PR figure, any ideas!