Author: Jeremy Beecham

Three decades of centralism have weakened the capacity of local councils to identify and meet the needs of their local communities. Councils are seen increasingly merely as agents of central government policy, a role which contributes to declining popular engagement with the local political scene. The limited success of central command and control is leading the Government to consider a more decentralized approach, but this is not consistent across government departments, nor does it necessarily imply devolution to, or even through, the town hall. Some proponents of ‘the new localism’ advocate by-passing local government in favour of separately elected single service bodies: a process likely to undermine representative democracy and increase depoliticization. Councils must be recognized as community leaders, much less dependent on central funding and subject to less regulation and more proportionate inspection. While extending choice and personalizing services are desirable, the limits of both remain to be debated. People are citizens, as well as consumers of public services, and should be encouraged to recognize their wider social responsibilities and participate in the debate about local priorities.

This Report is based on a PMPA lecture delivered in Newcastle—a particularly appropriate venue for a discussion about the future of local government and local democracy.