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Decentralisation is to dominate the next general election

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By David Williams

Policy experts from across the political spectrum have predicted that decentralisation will be a major theme in the next general election.

Guy Lodge, associate director of the centre-Left Institute for Public Policy Research, and Andrew Lilico, chief economist at the centre-Right Policy Exchange think-tank, both argued that the next government must empower local authorities.

During a debate on party manifestos on June 25, Lodge said central control had led to excessive waste.

‘The big central state does not do what it says on the tin – the idea that it can deliver similar outcomes everywhere is just a myth, and a myth that the Left has been wedded to for far too long.’

However, he anticipated resistance to decentralisation, telling delegates that voters disliked postcode lotteries and that the UK political culture ‘nationalises blame’, holding central government responsible for ‘absolutely everything that happens’.

‘The problem with decentralisation is that the public aren’t interested in it,’ he added. ‘[But] they do care if you make the case that you can improve outcomes and spend money better.’

Lilico said the Conservatives would be pushing for a move from a ‘society in which Gordon Brown micro-manages pretty much everything’ into one in which power is devolved to councils, nurses, teachers and consumers.

‘We tried central authority and ended up with a disaster.’