There have been baby steps in this direction in the form of city deals, but real devolution is exemplified by some of our continental counterparts who generally retain a much higher proportion of their tax base and are far more in control of their own destinies.
It was a bitter dispute that would last for a year, devastate dozens of communities, create civil war in Britain and throw thousands of destinies off course.
With media on all sides forcing Ukraine into a west v east narrative, Ukrainians keep hearing that this battle is geopolitical and inter-ethnic, rather than an attempt by ordinary people to take control of their destinies.
"I know this show is heavily based on us mentoring and all the rest of it, but people really are in control of their own destinies in this show".
What they want is a bill, in the Queen's speech following May's election, setting out the tests that cities have to meet before they can start to take charge of their own destinies.
It's an environment where people feel comfortable owning the destinies of other human beings.
"We want farmers to have control of their own destinies, to learn to market their products in these competitive globalised markets, so they are not dependent on some NGO," says Mr Wille.But perhaps the most cogent objection to Fairtrade is that it is an inefficient way to get money to poor producers.
Both peoples must be understood through their specific history and accept the fact that their destinies are inextricably linked.
"Both cities are going out to create their own destinies," he says.
It argued that, with the possibility of a sovereign default by the superpower, "such alarming days when the destinies of others are in the hands of a hypocritical nation have to be terminated".That notion attracts some sympathy in South-East Asia but few would want an American-led international order to give way to one dominated by China.
The long-standing assumption that with the state's blessing, the destinies of entire industries should be overseen by a charmed circle of interconnected people from the grandes écoles and the haute bourgeoisie seems to be wearing thinner these days.
