East Anglia: The Big Debate

The East Anglian Daily Times is starting a debate on the future of East Anglia.

Do we want regional government, with Suffolk and Essex absorbed into a six-county melting pot with Norfolk, Cambridgeshire, Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire? Do we want to keep our independent county councils?

The Government is busily reorganising public services on regional lines. Ambulance, police, fire control and health will all soon be controlled regionally and if ministers can convince the voters, they will create a regional parliament to run strategic affairs.

Whitehall already has set up an unelected regional assembly and development agency because it believes counties are not big enough to cope with the increasing demands of the 21st century.

Part of the regional agenda is the reform of local government, which could be upon us by April 1, 2009. Counties and districts would go, to be replaced by large all-purpose unitary authorities.

This week we are giving you the opportunity to vote on the future of East Anglia. On Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday, we will be holding our own referendum.

All week, politicians from Essex and Suffolk will be having their say and you can have yours.

Political Editor Graham Dines outlines how we have got to where we are and sets out the possibilities for the restructuring of our corner of England.

Join our debate on the future of East Anglia by voting in our polls to the right, or email your comments to eadtletters@eadt.co.uk