It’s not going to be a give-away election, we have been told. The deficit is so huge that electoral bribes would be inappropriate and self-defeating for politicians putting themselves forward as credible leaders in an age of austerity.
And, lo, it sort of turned out that way when the party manifestos were published this week. There were a few exceptions – most obviously the Conservatives’ promise to reverse most of the planned National Insurance increases and the Liberal Democrats’ proposal to exempt the first £10,000 of earnings from tax. But otherwise the financial giveaways had gone away.
However, there was something else on offer to the great British public. They might not have more money in their pockets, but they can certainly expect all manner of new and exciting powers.
The main party manifestos each emphasised devolution from central government and empowerment of both communities and individuals.
Labour said it would give people ‘voice and choice’, while the Tories talked about a ‘Big Society’, with groups of individuals running schools, parks and libraries. Not to be left behind, the LibDems added that they would ‘radically decentralise politics’.
Some of the parties’ manifesto plans were sensible; some were pure fantasy. ‘Power to the people’ is an impressive call to arms, but what it means in practice is anyone’s guess.
It also begs the question of what will be the role of local government in this brave new do-it-yourself world.
The Tories have offered councils a power of general competence, while Labour suggested that they should have new responsibilities in relation to housing, climate change and the NHS. But, generally, support for town halls was lukewarm at best.
And, of course, there was little discussion of what devolution on this scale would mean for Whitehall. As Simon Parker from the Institute for Government points out in this week’s cover feature (pages 20-23), a fundamental culture change will be necessary to deal with the twin issues of devolution and budget cuts.
The civil service will require a new mind-set – one that is less risk averse, that embraces co-operation and puts much greater emphasis on service delivery. Silos will be out and pooled budgets will be in.
It’s the stuff of nightmares for many mandarins, and will take some doing by the party in Downing Street come May 7.
In a number of respects, persuading parents to run schools or residents to tend their local parks will be the easy part of the equation.
Mike Thatcher, editor of Public Finance
