This content was first published in The Leveller.
Let’s be very clear from the outset, local politicians are elected to run local services. They are locally accountable and whilst very tempting to shift blame to national government, the moral and legal responsibility lies with those local politicians as they are required to set balanced budgets.
During my five years as Leader I was proud to present balanced budgets every year. It wasn’t easy though, being in a position of responsibility never is – unexpected emergencies, competing priorities and difficult decisions. I remember Thursday 13th September 2018 as if it was yesterday. It was on that day that my colleagues and I had to decide on seventy lines of savings to make the budget balance. It was probably one of my worst days and TV footage from the evening shows the dramatic emotional impact it had had upon me. But those decisions needed to be made locally, with local understanding and local empathy.
So should the National Government now step in to save authorities who have mismanaged their finances by failing to take difficult decisions, failing to meet financial targets and failing to focus on delivering a sustainable Council?
I recently spent a few days in a large Southeast Council which had failed its electorate and had subsequently declared a s114, bankruptcy notice. The impact of that notice and the appointment of external Commissioners on residents, the voluntary sector and staff cannot be overstated. I was shock out of being in a state of mild acceptance about the phrase s114 to deeper understanding of the blunt reality of what s114 means.
And so we come back to the question set by the editor. What should National Government do? Yes, we could argue for more grants or more funding but in a profligate, uncontrolled or inept Council would that really have any demonstrable effect? Or would it provide more opportunity for inappropriate money wasting and ill-conceived vanity projects?
In my opinion the only thing that national government should do is to let local government get on and govern locally and that means lifting the Council Tax cap, currently set at 2%. That way the local electorate will very quickly understand what the financial impact is to them of having an incompetent administration running their Council. Democracy is not always perfect, it can be quite brutal but it does allow local people to make informed decisions on who they want to run their services and at what cost.
Cllr David Fothergill, Conservative Group Leader