IN the wake of Scotland's historic "no" to independence, the party leaders respond to the Echo's plea for them not to overlook the North-East by taking the...

FIRST STEPS TO CHANGE

THE debate on devolution came on the day that The Northern Echo joined with leading northern newspapers The Journal and The Chronicle in Newcastle, the Yorkshire Post, Manchester Evening News and the Gazette in Middlesbrough to ask the party leaders to explain how they would give new powers to the north of England to prevent it being overshadowed by a newly powerful Scotland. These are their responses.

David Cameron

The Northern Echo:

“Now that the people of Scotland will have more power over their affairs, so it follows that the people of England, Wales and Northern Ireland must have a bigger say over theirs.

The rights of these voters need to be respected, preserved and enhanced as well. So, just as Scotland will vote separately in the Scottish Parliament on their issues of tax, spending and welfare so too England, as well as Wales and Northern Ireland, should be able to vote on these issues.

Today, several northern papers have done what local papers do best – come out campaigning for their area.

I am clear that it is also important we have wider civic engagement about how to improve governance in our United Kingdom, including how to empower our great cities.

This is something I am absolutely passionate about, which is why we have set out our long term economic plan for a Northern Powerhouse. Over the coming months we will continue to work with the North to make this plan a reality."

Ed Miliband

The Northern Echo:

“Labour welcomes the campaign by The Northern Echo and other leading regional newspapers calling for devolution of power in England.

As I said yesterday, we will deliver on our promise of further powers to Scotland. But other people in Britain, including England, now deserve the chance to shape their own futures with a dynamic devolution settlement, open to every citizen.

I want to ensure decisions are taken closer to families and businesses and in the interests of hard-working people.

These issues can no longer be fixed solely by politicians or prime ministers.

We will set out a process, to begin before the next election, with every region in the country, including the North-East, engaged in a dialogue with the people about how power needs to be devolved."

Nick Clegg

The Northern Echo:

“Crucially, we need to address this huge missing bit of the jigsaw - which is England.

For far too long, far too many decisions have been taken on behalf of the towns, villages, cities and counties of England by Westminster and Whitehall.

As a Sheffield MP, I tell you people in Sheffield quite rightly say, ‘Well, if we’re having all this debate about more power and control moving to other parts of the United Kingdom, why not to Sheffield too?’ or to Manchester, or Liverpool, or Newcastle or to Cornwall?

That’s not something we’re going to settle in a matter of weeks, but I think we should seize this opportunity to use this appetite for change to ensure that we move beyond the over-centralised status quo and really resettle things so that people feel much more in control of their own affairs."