THE last Rawdon Community Library talk before Christmas is on Tuesday, November 28 at 2pm.

Jeffrey Henderson, Professor of International Development at Bristol University, will be talking about 'A Federal UK - The Overdevelopment of London and the Underdevelopment of Britain - Why a Federal UK is the Key to a Prosperous North'.

Jeffrey writes: "The cancellation of Northern Powerhouse Rail in November 2021 (a new high speed line that would have linked Leeds to Manchester via Bradford) underlined how dependent the future prosperity of the North of England is on the priorities of the central government in Westminster. It also highlighted how powerless the people of the North (and our mayors, city councils etc) are to advance our own interests.

"This talk will argue that in spite of devolution, Britain remains a grossly over-centralised, pre-modern state: indeed, the least democratic in Western Europe. It will show how the continuing dominance of the Westminster government over national economic and budgetary policy - and the prioritising of the interests of London elites that goes with it (hence the 'overdevelopment' of London) - has been a major contributor to the decline of the North and other regions.

"Rejuvenating the economies and societies of the English regions and British nations requires a far more radical form of devolution than anything currently on offer. It requires the transformation of Britain into a federal state (similar to Germany, Canada, USA, Spain etc) where Northern and other regional governments have the political legitimacy, power and the financial autonomy, necessary to help orchestrate prosperous futures for their regions."

Tickets are £5 (£3 students) which includes refreshments. There is wheelchair access and accessible toilets.