Category Archives: Party policy and internal matters

Nick Clegg today delivered a major speech to the Local Government Association outlining the ways Liberal Democrats intend to give real power back to local people and communities. It’s well worth reading in full – which you can do here – but for those who want the skinny, here’s a few snippets…

On the principle of ‘localism’

I am drawn to the philosophy of decentralisation and local empowerment for many reasons. There’s the basic principle of subsidiarity – the liberal belief that decisions just ought to be taken as close to the people they affect as possible. But it’s more than that. Centralised government simply doesn’t work to deliver the change I want for Britain. It doesn’t improve services fast enough. And it certainly doesn’t deliver fairer outcomes – where everybody gets opportunities no matter their background.

On the so-called ‘postcode lottery’ that results

In Britain today there is often a pervasive notion that the only way to deliver fairness and opportunity for all is to have absolute rigid uniformity. And this generates the media refrain of a postcode lottery. But people are different. Uniform services – almost by definition – do not fit individuals. We need variation, flexibility and personalisation in the way services are run and delivered if they are to fit into real people’s lives.

A postcode lottery is a terrible thing. But the terrible part isn’t that things are different in different areas. The terrible part is the lottery – it’s that you don’t get to choose what fits you, or fits your postcode.

I want things to be different in different places. I want things to be different for different people. I just want people to be able to choose what suits them – not have it handed out arbitrarily by a bureaucratic lottery no-one understands.

What devolution really means

I want to address what I really mean by devolution – because it’s a word that’s often used, but rarely followed through. Real localisation means giving communities autonomy. The power to disagree with central government. And to do something different. I believe this is only possible when communities are in charge of their own money. … if local government is spending central government’s money – central government will want a big say in what it’s spent on.

So at the heart of any real plan to transfer power downwards in Britain must be a plan to transfer taxation downwards. Britain has the second most centralised taxation system in Europe. Second only to Malta. And Malta has a population about the same size as Croydon. This has to change. Until it does, all this talk of double devolution and post-bureaucratic ages will be so much hot air.