The power of local government

DANNY LEACH / PEMBROKE, PPE

During the pandemic it has felt like big names and big personalities have taken the spotlight, and occasionally the blame. Politicians like Nicola Sturgeon, Mark Drakeford, and Andy Burnham took on a national prominence representing their regions. However, throughout the last year, it has been local councils that have often carried the largest part of the burden. In my local authority, Bradford, the council has redeployed staff to run vaccine centres, testing centres, and provide additional support to manage crowded services. They have achieved this at a time when revenues have been lower than ever, government support non-existent, and older cuts are still being felt. Despite £278m of cuts since 2010, Bradford Council still provides crucial services, and has a real connection with the community it serves.

Mayoral systems have been imposed from above. Unless they learn from and work with local authorities, they will never be as influential in people’s lives as councils.

JACK CHURCHILL / BRASENOSE, PPE

The question of English devolution appears to have no easy answers. The several attempts that have been made have left England with an incoherent and varied splattering of devolution. For example, the powers given to individual metro-mayors vary depending on negotiations with local authorities, and, according to the Institute for Government, only 27% of people are covered by this form of devolution. In order to avoid such an ad-hoc result, future reforms must be planned with the whole of England in mind. I believe that Councils should be the focus of any future devolution in England. The first thing that should be done is to make councillors both full time and salaried. One effect of this would be to allow councillors to become more representative of the local area. In 2018, the Local Government Association found that 42.9% of Councillors were over the age of 65 - compared to just 22.7% of the general population. The average councillor is nearly 10 years older than the average MP. Currently then, councils are largely restricted to those who can afford not to have a job. By paying a full salary, rather than limited expenses, it would allow more working-age individuals to give up their jobs to pursue being a councillor. Furthermore, by being full-time, it would allow for greater scrutiny of council actions, and would make the executive more accountable. This would lead to more considered measures, and consequently, better outcomes.