Strange?

Why is the Left which claims to be democratic so opposed to "localism", - devolving power as low as possible?

They seem generally happy to devolve it upwards - they have been very quiet in the face of a huge transfer of power to Brussels, but suggest that they transfer more power to local authorities, health service and education, and they suck their teeth, and shake their heads.

Why? Is it because they really want a state-controlled uniformity which is allegedly paternalistic? They don't want people to have the ability to transfer from one authority to another because the the policies on the latter are more attractive - you could even have pockets of conservatism, with people enjoying freedom in spending their money and exercising choice. Unthinkable - no-one should be able to escape the utopia they are imposing from their blueprint!

Whatever the reason, while people on the right are generally happy to devolve decisions to those best able to decide and who are most affected, with one or two exceptions people on the left want no exceptions to that state imposed solution to society's ills. In other words democracy is a special kind, imposed by those who have gained central power, and the power must be centralised.