Councils publish manifesto for democracy

LGA press release - 29 June 2009

Radical plans to rebalance British democracy in favour of voters will be published today by council leaders.

The Local Government Association, an all-party organisation representing more then 350 councils in England and Wales, is calling for a major programme of reform to give millions of voters more local control over vital public services from health and social care to economic development.

The manifesto for a new politics is published as hundreds of elected councillors gather for their annual conference. It proposes a string of measures designed to give local people a greater say about how Britain is governed.

Proposals to give voters a greater say over how services are run locally include:

• Giving locally-elected councillors the power to propose national legislation at Westminster, and guaranteeing time for debate.
• Increasing the services voters can choose to be delivered in their area by giving councils a power to provide any public services not explicitly reserved for national government
• Rolling back the Quango state
• Giving voters more control over taxation by setting business rates locally – at present they are determined nationally - and ensuring those tax receipts are available to improve local services.
• Giving voters more influence over national legislation by increasing the power of locally-elected councils to scrutinise new laws.
• Giving local people more power over the health service
• Linking parliamentary constituencies more closely with local authority boundaries to make MPs and councillors more accountable.

Cllr Margaret Eaton, chairman of the LGA, said: “Britain is facing a crisis of confidence in democracy.  Locally elected councils representing the real needs of millions of people can combat plummeting trust in Westminster politics and rebuild faith in the political system.

“It is not enough to change the way MPs claim their expenses, we need to change the way Britain is governed to give people a much better say over what happens in their area.

“Locally elected councils deliver for people. We need a radical shift to wrest power away from Whitehall, give local people a real voice, and give their locally elected representatives the power to deliver what voters want.”

ENDS

Notes to editors.

The LGA annual conference in Harrogate runs between June 30 and July 2.

An LGA pamphlet Who’s in Charge? a manifesto for a new politics is published today backed by leading figures from all major political parties in local government.

It proposes:

Giving councils the power to introduce legislation at Westminster

At present councils can introduce Bills into Parliament to authorise major local projects such as railways and bridges. We want them to be able to join together to propose national legislation at Westminster to improve services to local people. We believe Parliamentary rules should be changed to give time for such legislation to be considered by MPs. One example would be reforms of licensing for lap dancing clubs. Councils called for  legislation in 2007 but had to wait instead for the Bill currently before the Commons to be passed into law. 

A general power to act for local people

We believe locally-elected councils should have powers to provide any public services not explicitly outlawed or reserved for national government. At present councils have a “wellbeing power”, but it is open to legal challenge and has been shown in the courts to be very limited. That leaves councils having to jump through many legal hoops before they can act.
Such a power could be used to expand council housebuilding or allow councils to give more mortgage help to families struggling in the recession.

Rolling back the Quango state

We want to give local people a greater say in how local services are run. That means making the plethora of quangos with which councils have to work more transparent and accountable, and make it easier for locally accountable councils to work with Government agencies to do their job.

Giving local people power over local taxation

We believe locally elected councillors should have power to set business rates – currently set nationally – and should retain those tax receipts to improve local services. We also oppose council tax capping. We believe such a move would make councils more accountable for the money they spend and would allow them to respond to the priorities and needs of local businesses and residents.

Giving voters more power over new laws

We want elected councils to be more closely involved in pre-legislative scrutiny of Bills that affect them before they are introduced into the Commons. That would help produce better laws and close loopholes.

Giving local people more power over the health service

We need seriously to consider making local councillors accountable for the planning, commissioning and monitoring of local health services.  In this way, there would be local redress. If people are unhappy about local services, they can use their votes and voices to exert influence.  

In practice this means increasing the ability of local people to hold local health services to account and participate in decisions about local health priorities. That would improve working between hospitals and care services to get elderly or infirm people back into their own homes. It could also help better focus the health service on local priorities.

Connecting MPs and councillors to voters

Parliamentary constituencies could be linked more closely with local authority boundaries to make MPs and councillors responsible for the same areas, helping to make them more accountable and ensure Parliament is more responsive to local needs.

Author: LGA Media Office
Contact: Ben Russell, LGA Media Office, Tel: 020 7664 3333

Who's in charge? A manifesto for a new politics (PDF, 6 Pages, 454KB)