Give power to the people, not celebs

Author: Merrick Cockell, Local Government Chronicle - Jun 11, 2009

David Cameron has repeatedly said that if elected, he will return power to the people, creating a “new politics, with a massive redistribution of power”.

These are clearly admirable sentiments, but promising to transfer power from central to local government is nothing new. The challenge for us is to ensure that this time the rhetoric is backed up by real devolution to our local communities.

Few would argue with Mr Cameron’s pledge to shift the balance of power “from the powerful to the powerless, from the political elite to the man and woman in the street”.

Indeed, London Councils has long advocated greater local control over schools, housing and policing. We believe that joined up commissioning between councils and other public sector bodies, such as the police and health service, will deliver significant savings and improved service outcomes.

Extending local democratic accountability to these bodies for the decisions that they make will also be enormously beneficial.

The select committee on communities and local government recently backed this idea, following their investigation into the need for councils to deliver more effective and locally accountable services, along with the reforms necessary to effect that shift in the balance of power from central to local government.

There is clearly a growing consensus that the concentration of power in Whitehall needs to be diluted, that communities need a greater say not just on how public money is spent but on how those spending decisions are reached.

A vital way to bridge the gap between the political world and communities is to get a wider range of people from different backgrounds involved in local politics.

London Councils’ Be A Councillor campaign has already inspired many people who would not necessarily get involved in politics into taking their first steps in becoming a councillor.

The government has called it an excellent example of community engagement, and is funding a national roll-out of the campaign, which also promotes greater awareness of what councils do by capitalising on the desire to get more involved in local democracy.

Indeed, a survey commissioned by London Councils a year ago found that a quarter of Londoners are interested in becoming a local councillor, but almost half those surveyed incorrectly thought councils are responsible for the police and hospitals.

The MPs’ expenses scandal has rightly shocked ordinary people into paying greater interest in how government operates, in how their tax money is spent and the way decisions affecting them are made.

However, it should not just be celebrities like Esther Rantzen who benefit from this elemental shift in public opinion about the way our country is run — it should also be those who truly represent our communities.

Translating all the localism rhetoric into real devolution of powers and responsibilities, and the extension of democratic accountability, is the only route to delivering greater value for money across the public sector.

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