22 April 2005
Councils have to play a central part in the next government's delivery agenda but need to prove that they are up to the challenge, the chair of the Local Government Association said this week.
Sir Sandy Bruce-Lockhart told a meeting at the London Assembly on April 19 that local government would only secure the freedoms and flexibilities it desires if it could demonstrate that the public was behind it.
'Whoever is in government will only really listen to us when our standing is higher than it is now,' he said. 'We need to be armed with public support to argue for more power.'
Bruce-Lockhart cited Electoral Commission research showing that 47% of people thought their local council was directly relevant to their lives – almost twice as many as the 25% who said the same of Westminster and Whitehall.
He said: 'We need to build on that. It is local issues that are important.'
He added that raising a greater proportion of council revenue locally would go a long way towards helping reignite interest in local democracy. 'If you look at the pattern across Europe, where more revenue is raised locally, turnout and interest in local government is higher.'
The LGA chair was giving evidence to the Commission on London Governance, a joint committee of the London Assembly and the Association of London Government, which is examining the way the capital is governed and how its public services are delivered.
Bruce-Lockhart urged London's leaders not to fight shy of seeking stronger self-government.
'London has unique challenges and opportunities. There is no doubt that it is increasingly dominant in Europe, let alone the UK. It needs to recognise that and take full responsibility for it,' he said.
PFapr2005
