Local government is the beating heart of our communities. It is the councillor knocking on doors, the staff working tirelessly behind the scenes and the many services that shape the day-to-day lives of people across the country.
Yet, too often, Westminster sidelines local government in national debates, despite the vital role it plays in delivering essential public services and driving local economic growth.
As Shadow Secretary of State for Local Government, my mission – with my shadow team of David Simmonds, Paul Holmes, James Jamieson and Jane Scott, who bring with them a wealth of experience of local government – is to ensure that our councils are empowered with the resources, support and autonomy they need to thrive.
Councils are not just service providers; they are the very foundations upon which communities build their futures. This highlights why the Government’s plans for local government reorganisation are so concerning.
We are very concerned that Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner’s goal is to make local government less accountable to the people and more accountable to her – that she intends to strip local decision-making away from the people who understand their areas best and create a new tier of Orwellian-sounding ‘strategic authorities’ that are closer to her and Whitehall.
The unfortunate truth is that, despite the protestations of my party, we must recognise that local government reorganisation is going to happen.
That is why we have given our support to local Conservative leaders who, backed into a corner, have joined the ‘priority pipeline’ scheme to make the best out of this rushed Whitehall diktat.
We are also concerned, like many local leaders, that the perceived cost savings from local government reorganisation should not be used to squeeze council spending further.
The recent local government finance settlement has already placed huge pressure on a large number of, predominantly rural, local authorities through the scrapping of the Rural Services Delivery Grant, and a new way to distribute the extra monies for social care, with councils expected to pick up the slack through further council tax rises.
While we welcome the Government’s move to multi-year funding settlements, more must be done to alleviate the uncertainty surrounding local government finance.
The Government should provide greater clarity around how new burdens – through legislation such as the Renters’ Rights and Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bills – will be funded, and councils must not be punished for keeping council tax low for local residents.
Any ‘fair funding’ review must allocate resources according to need, rather than simply deprivation.
We are still at the early stages of a new Parliament and local government will probably look very different in five years’ time, with new challenges and demands to meet. Over the months and years ahead, the shadow team will work constructively with the Government when it gets things right, but hold it firmly to account when it gets things wrong.
We are committed to engaging and listening to the sector as we begin to develop solutions to the deep structural challenges facing local government.