Let’s take power away from unelected bodies and put our trust in local government

By James Hulme

If the oft-quoted slogan that “all politics is local” is true, it is baffling that locally elected political leaders have such limited power over the small but crucial issues that are central to our lives and communities. Questions such as whether our local trains run on time, our police resources are focused on tackling crime priorities and whether our local health services respond to our needs are central to how we view the success of local government.

Why then are local leaders often hamstrung when trying to directly influence these areas of policy? Unfortunately decisions on local policy objectives are still largely decided by an array of unelected bodies, be they Primary Care Trusts, Police Authorities or Local Transport Authorities. That is not to say that they set the wrong priorities, but if we are truly focused on empowering local politics, shouldn’t the bulk of power reside with the people elected by their community to represent them?

Recent announcements by John Denhamon on strengthening local democracy have hinted towards greater oversight for elected leaders, so what might that include?

On policing, it remains a source of frustration that unelected Police Authorities set local priorities. Because they are appointed, they lack the power to argue against a ‘one size fits all’ approach to policing. They lack the visibility to be accountable to the community and have been overtaken by other reforms that duplicate many of their functions. The duty to set policing priorities and set the budget to pay for them should be transferred to council leaders, who would offer visible and accountable leadership to their local community.

Similarly, further devolution within the health service could help to improve service delivery and democratic accountability. Given that local authorities already commission services related to health outcomes in the area, such as children’s services, adult social care and housing, there is a coherent argument for a greater role in the strategic delivery and direction of PCTs, including adopting the New Local Government Network‘s proposal for local councils to appoint PCT non-executive directors.

On transport, how often do passengers complain to their local leaders about trains being cancelled or a lack of bus routes, only to be informed that councils have limited influence over their provision? Why shouldn’t clusters of local authorities be given new powers to hold rail franchises to account, including the right to trigger a review of their contract? And why shouldn’t councils be allowed to introduce proper London-style regulation of buses to run services based on the needs of their community rather than the profits of the service provider?

For too long Labour has invested faith in direct forms of democracy that often bypass elected government. Devolved budgets and neighbourhood assemblies do have their merit but a suspicion lingers that the party doesn’t quite trust locally elected representatives to fully guide local priorities. Putting them at the very heart of, and making them accountable for key decisions, would send a powerful message about Labour’s faith in representative government. More importantly, it would renew faith in local democratic structures and might actually lead to better services.

James Hulme is Head of Communications at the New Local Government Network.