07 June 2002
But what Prescott's apparent political resurrection may also indicate is a gradual but significant shift in government policy.
Despite publicly defending Stephen Byers after his resignation as transport, local government and the regions secretary on May 28, Prescott was said to resemble the cat that got the cream. The demise of Byers and the hasty Cabinet reshuffle that ensued delivered his baby, regional government, straight back into his lap.
His Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, ensconced in the Cabinet Office, has now been separated off into a department in its own right. As well as keeping his current Cabinet Office duties, including chairing Cabinet committees and overseeing the government offices for the regions and the Social Exclusion Unit, he makes major gains.
Local government, the regions, regeneration, housing and planning are all subsumed into his new department.
Nick Raynsford, almost a part of the fixtures and fittings at Eland House, remains in place as his minister of state for local government and the regions. He is joined by Lord Rooker, who replaces Lord Falconer in housing and planning, and Barbara Roche, who takes on the social exclusion brief.
As the dust settles, what this will mean for local government and the regions is still unclear.
For the pessimists, the DPM's department could signal the final push to sideline councils from the main political agenda. Shoving them into one department, headed by a minister some didn't even expect to make it to the last election, could be the prime minister's attempt to contain a troublesome, even uninteresting, thorn in his side.
If this theory were borne out, Tony Blair would be free to focus on his political priorities, such as health and education, while leaving the headline-grabbing Department for Transport to his new safe pair of hands, Alistair Darling.
The Conservatives have, unsurprisingly, been the first to sound the death knell. 'He [Prescott] has already had one unforgettable go at the job that ended in utter failure and his banishment to the Cabinet Office,' says Gordon Keymer, leader of the Conservatives on the Local Government Association. 'Yet he has been put in charge of an area of government crucial to delivering public services.'
Meanwhile, the optimists have met Prescott's resurrection with enthusiasm – with some even going as far as to suggest that this is just the first stage of giving English councils and the regions a real presence in government.
'The big hope is that Number 10 and Number 11 have finally realised that they need to find a way to develop the power and capacity of the regions,' says Professor Gerry Stoker, chair of the New Local Government Network.
'This is the first time someone has had no other remit but to bat for the regions against the other functional departments.'
Sources are already suggesting that the DPM's new office is simply a precursor for a new Department for Devolution. Public Finance has learned that plans had been 'on the table' for some time before Byers' resignation.
Such a department would signify a huge swing in government policy, with an implicit recognition that councils and the regions will be given the freedom to deliver autonomous local services.
As local government straddles Whitehall's other functional departments, such as education and health, often creating political strains for councils, such a department could act as a vital conduit and championing presence in the Cabinet.
But, for now, the success of any new department depends on what Prescott can pull off. Union sources say that despite his popularity there are still question marks over his real political power in the Cabinet.
'This is Prescott's biggest challenge,' one source says. 'He has to have the clout to speak effectively for councils and
the regions and make them stronger in government than ever before.'
PFjun2002
