For strong and effective Labour local government we need to take the campaign to Labour’s NEC

Last month I was elected as Labour Leader of the LGA on its highest ever nomination for this position. But if we are to make the case for strong and effective Labour local government we need to take the campaign to the Labour Party NEC. 

Like most of you I came into politics to make a difference. I love my family, my town and my party and know that the prospects for all of them are closely inter-related. Oldham, like many of our Northern towns, has a great history but an uncertain future. Since my election as a councillor in 2003 and as Leader since 2011 I have worked hard with my Group and the wider community to transport our town together. I am proud of what we have achieved.

Since 2010 Labour Local Government has seen widespread and destructive cuts in our funding – more than any other part of the public sector. Despite this we have not indulged in gesture politics but have strived to protect our communities and ensure that vital public services continued to be delivered to those in need. Not only that we have seen a dynamic growth in the number of Labour controlled councils and councillors. We can all be proud of what we have achieved.

But we also know that we cannot carry on like this. Too many of our councils are at breaking point and we cannot carry on indefinitely making cuts and trying to balance growing demand for schools, social services and housing with reductions in staffing and available finance. I am not here to manage the decline in local government.

The last few months have seen a welcome focus on the role and potential of Labour local government. The IPPR Report on the Condition of Britain, the report from Lord Adonis on infrastructure and public spending and the Local Government Innovations Task Force are all extremely welcome. But as realists we also know that we have to make these reports a reality.

And let’s be clear we have a fight on our hands. The next few months will be critical within the party and we need  to ensure that the voice of Labour local government is heard strongly through the policy making process at the National Policy Forum and the NEC. We have to counter the support that still exists for central control of delivery of public services. Whitehall does not know best but they do know how to keep power and money to themselves and are supported by some of the most powerful lobbyists in the country.  We need to make a strong case for the necessary powers, funding and respect for all Labour Councils and to build alliances across the Labour movement.  Clearly it will be difficult to change the current public spending settlements but we can expect more control and influence over all public spending in our localities and a mature discussion on prudential borrowing by councils.

I am proud of what previous Labour governments have achieved and the contribution that Labour councils and councillors have made to this success. It is also to our  great credit that as Labour councillors we are able to contribute so significantly to campaign activity and funds at local, regional and national level.

However loyalty is not the same as uncritical support. As leader of the Labour Group and member of the NEC I will want to see more respect and recognition for Labour councillors and Labour Groups at all levels of the party. In particular it is about time that the Association of Labour Councillors was properly funded and provided a range of campaign and training opportunities for all Labour councillors.

Local elections last month were again a great achievement for Labour Groups especially in London and our large towns. But there is a warning in the level of support for UKIP in too many of our communities which have supported Labour for generations. We need a local as much as a national response to this political development. I want the LGA Labour Group to be at the heart of this response and as part of the NEC to re-build a clear vision of what Labour represents.

Jim McMahon is Leader of Oldham Council and Labour Leader of the Local Government Association. He is standing to be elected to one of two places reserved for councillors on the NEC.. For more information please click here. We welcome submissions from other candidates.