Localism works for ordinary people. Decentralisation is best for those most vulnerable. Here's a few examples......

1). A family moves from one location to another to ensure their child has a better education.... Then the local council decides to close the two schools, and merge them into one. The family is back to square one, due to centralisation.

2) Two libraries exist. One in the West of town, and one in the East. Mrs Goggins is frail and cannot get out much, but she can pop to the library in the West as it is very near to her. But the council decides to merge the two libraries as part of their "efficiency" plan. Now Mrs Goggins has to get a bus to reach the central library, but the bus stop is too far to walk to so she rarely goes there.

3) Many local railway stations served local communities up until the 1960s. Though they were "loss making" they did provide transport for those without cars. Then, in the 1960s the governments gave Dr Beeching the thankless task of deciding which to keep and which to close. His name became reviled in rural England for decades afterwards, though the people who hatched the plan remained anonymous...

4) Hospitals: Centralisation means that local people have to travel further for routine treatment. And if there is a "hospital bug" more patients are affected..

5) Fire service: I'd rather not wait for the fire brigade to travel miles while I wait for them to put out the blaze. Local fire stations mean they can reach you more quickly...

-- None of the new parties on the scene other than the Populists are picking up on this theme. And some of the older ones, like the National Liberals, have other policies that make them undesirable. We need Populism, we need Localism.....

Join the Populist Party.