Roger Read, Tom Wilson, John Harris and Barrie Baldelli on Labour’s plans to reform local government

Martin Kettle agrees with the government favouring “English counties, not regions, as an essential building block of a modern network” (We now have a plan to make England’s local government work – but I fear party politics will trash it, 19 December). There is a key word and concept that should form the basis of good governance. It is “subsidiarity”, meaning that decisions should be taken at the level to which they apply. It forms the basis for good governance across Europe, which is based on regions.

This is because there are key functions and decisions that can only be taken effectively and in an integrated way across regions. They include the strategic planning of major developments, transportation systems, infrastructure networks, housing market areas, higher-end retail catchments, health provision and higher education, as well as environmental entities such as river valleys and water-catchment areas. So please do not advocate sentiment as a basis for second-tier governance. Keep some of the old county names by all means, but surely not their Norman boundaries.
Roger Read
Former secretary general, Metrex, the network of European metropolitan regions and areas