Friday 29 June 2012

David Tutt: Eastbourne will be independent in a generation

From the BBC:

Eastbourne will be independent within a generation and part of a British "neighbourhood of nations", according to the Borough Council's leader. 

David Tutt says the UK's towns and cities share a common language and cultures shaped by their relationships with each other. "England is not just a neighbour to us," writes Mr Tutt in The Eastbourne Herald. "She is our sister nation too. A slightly irritating older sister who 'borrows' our make-up and clothes and never brings them back."

With Scotland due to vote on independence in 2014, British history is at "a hinge point", he says. Mr Tutt was in Hastings on Friday for a meeting of the East Sussex Local Councillors' Association. In an article for The Eastbourne Herald newspaper, he suggests the East Sussex-Kreis Pinneberg Twin County Agreement as a model for future co-operation between Eastbourne and the rest of the United Kingdom. 

He says: "With a seat for everyone at the table there will be plenty of areas where we will be able to pool and share solutions and creativity in a strong partnership of equals, which, within a generation, I am sure, will include an independent Eastbourne. Instead of clinging to the straitjacket of the single state it's time we all began to embrace this future Britain, a neighbourhood of nations, sovereign, democratic and free."

9 comments:

Derek said...

Free Kent! They may take our lives but they'll never take our luncheon vouchers!

Bayard said...

"Leanne Wood says the UK's nations share a common language and cultures "

WTF? AFAICS, the only thing that differentiates Wales from England is its language and culture. At least the Scots have their own legal system.

Mark Wadsworth said...

D, or their shopping trolleys.

B, good point. But you missed the "rain" bit.

Physiocrat said...

Freedom for Hampden Park!

Bayard said...

But you missed the "rain" bit.

No, that's Geordieland.

Mark Wadsworth said...

P, request declined

B, do you have anything to back up that wild assertion? This say otherwise.

Bayard said...

Well, the pictures of the Welsh floods showed cars with water up to their windows, but I heard a reporter say he'd seen cars that had been submerged over their roofs in Gateshead.

Mark Wadsworth said...

B, we were not talking about flooding, which is a question of how narrow valleys are, how badly towns are planned and rivers dredged. We were talking about rain, that stuff that falls from the sky. You get rain over the oceans, even though by definition they are never flooded.

Bayard said...

Mark, I know, I wasn't being serious. I do live in Wales after all.