Tag Archives: local government reorganisation

Angela Rayner’s announcement of a pause and rethink on much of the Government’s local government reorganisation is welcome. For months, those of us who believe passionately in genuinely local government have watched with increasing concern as plans have developed which would abolish district and Borough councils in large swathes of England and replace them with March larger, more remote unitary authorities.

Today offers an opportunity to think again.

District and Borough Councils are at the heart of the communities they serve. They empty our bins, decide planning applications, support our town centres, provide leisure facilities, put on community events, and deal with many of the everyday issues which determine how people feel about the places where they live. And, importantly, they are genuinely local. Residents know their council. The best Councillors know their patches. Decisions can be taken by people who understand the towns and villages affected by them. That matters.

The previous direction of travel risked replacing these genuinely local councils with enormous authorities covering vast geographical areas, with the centre of decision-making potentially many miles away from many of the communities served. Calling something ‘local government’ does not automatically make it local. As Liberal Democrats we understand this better than most. Localism is fundamental to liberalism. Power should be exercised as close as practically possible to the people affected by it, rather than constantly being dragged upwards into ever larger institutions.

There is also no hiding from the fact that district and Borough councils are places where Lib Dems have often prospered electorally. That is not an accident. Our politics works best when it is rooted in communities: councillors knocking on doors, listening to residents and fighting for improvements street by street and neighbourhood by neighbourhood.