Nimbyism, Centralism and The Galloway National Park
Nimbyism and Centralism are, to be blunt, the two biggest contributing factors to the decline of the British economy.
Devolution was supposed to be a tonic for Centralism.
Town Planning reform the cure for Nimbyism.
Now, in Galloway, a battle between Centralism and Nimbysim is taking place over the National Park issue.
For me, the Galloway National Park is not a 'true' Nimby issue. As most Numbyism is generally a small bunch of people moaning about developments that will not affect their lives because they just do not like any change, even positive change.
In Galloway the National Park issue is going to see a victory for Centralism over Nimbyism as the political reality means there are no votes in stopping the National Park, but plenty for it from elsewhere.
The National Park is not going to radically change Galloway overnight, but over a ten to twenty-year period, it is going to have a profound effect on the local housing and employment marketplace.
The effects will strip the local economy of local workers and families and increase the seasonality of the region.
However, as Scotland continues to ape and copy the Westminster model of over-centralisation, the profound changes and effects will go unnoticed or uncared about by the Natioanal Park administration who will live in Edinburgh and Glasgow.
Dumfries and Galloway is trapped between a rock and a hard place.