|
The Wessex Regionalist Party is a minor political party that seeks the establishment some form of legislative and administrative devolved system for the area known as Wessex, in the south-west of England. It was formed by Alexander Thynn in 1974 in response to growing demands for home rule in both Scotland and Wales, arguing that devolution there would necessitate a coherent federal system across the United Kingdom as a whole.
They have contested some constituencies in most elections since they were established, but without much success. They have actively participated in the Wessex Constitutional Convention since its establishment.
They define Wessex as consisting of the traditional counties of Berkshire, Devon, Dorset, Gloucestershire, Hampshire (which includes the Isle of Wight), Oxfordshire, Somerset, and Wiltshire.
Their political ambitions are roughly equivalent to that of Mebyon Kernow's proposals for the future of Cornwall. They are not happy with the plans by the government to give South West England some form of assembly along the lines of the London Assembly because the proposed Eastern boundary of the region bisects the Cotswolds Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, and would leave out the heart of Wessex, Hampshire, including its traditional capital, Winchester. It also divides two major transport corridors, the M4 corridor and the South Coast Metropole which the party argues would have adverse economic effects on those regions.
External link
|
