Fit for which future?

One of the first publications I wrote as chief executive of the LGiU more than a decade ago began with the observation that ‘local government stands at a crossroads'. Not hugely original, but it felt true. And in many ways it still does. Nonetheless, I was slightly horrified this week when we came across an archived LGiU publication from 1993; the first sentence? ‘Local government is at a crossroads.'So we've been saying that local government is at a crossroads for more than 30 years. But if you are always at a crossroads, maybe that isn't a crossroads at all? Maybe that's just what normality looks like.I have argued before in these columns that local government is in a permanent state of transformation. We are currently facing reorganisation, devolution, new strategic authorities, fiscal reform, special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) and more. We have argued that these transformation projects are too often ad hoc and episodic rather than intentional and strategic. But is the real problem that the forces now reshaping the world are so profound that even our most ambitious programmes are small answers to large problems?At the LGiU we have consistently argued that councils are the connective tissue of the state, and that national success has local foundations. That argument is more important now than ever. But it must be updated.Let's take four examples.First, AI represents a qualitatively different kind of disruption. It's not just a new tool, but a radical change to the economy, to the ownership of thought and knowledge, and to how we understand consciousness and agency. We are approaching a moment where the question of who, or what, counts as an actor in the world is genuinely open.For councils this is not an abstract concern. AI will accelerate change: in service demand, in citizens' expectations, in the capacity of different actors to reshape what public services mean.Current AI pilots are largely about efficiency. The deeper questions – about democratic accountability, the meaning of professional judgement, what it means for a council to make a decision – are barely being discussed.Second, the post-war international order is breaking down. Systems we have taken for granted – stable trade, international rule of law, multilateral climate governance, historic alliances – are under strain. Councils experience supply chain disruption, inflation, migration pressures and climate-driven instability. Global issues come home to roost in local neighbourhoods, but local government is rarely party to strategic conversations about any of these.Third, representative democracy is in crisis. We see a catastrophic decline in trust in institutions. Algorithms drive filter bubbles and reinforce division. Polarisation and atomisation are making ‘big tent' party politics less and less viable. Politics is increasingly driven by activist bases rather than shared culture or mass media. In a multi-party system we may see more instability and unpredictability. If the political environment that local government depends on for its mandate and resources is in structural difficulty, what does that mean for councils?Finally, global climate breakdown is not a future risk. It already drives conflict, instability and crisis. Climate adaptation is a complex, cross-boundary challenge that doesn't map neatly onto administrative boundaries. Yet the scale of what is coming – in demand for services, in infrastructure, in place-based economic disruption – demands to be at the centre of local government transformation.At the LGiU we have consistently argued that councils are the connective tissue of the state, and that national success has local foundations. That argument is more important now than ever. But it must be updated.Our current transformation discussions are largely structural: unitarisation, devolution deals, workforce redesign. All important. But the risk is that they are answering the wrong question.If AI is about to radically reshape what it means to make a public decision, if democratic legitimacy is fragmenting, if geopolitical instability is driving service demand and if climate breakdown is accelerating then the questions local government needs to be asking are not primarily about structures. They are about purpose, identity and role in a changing world.We talk a lot about building local government fit for the future. But which future? The reforms currently being designed make most sense if the world of 2035 looks broadly like the world of 2015. One thing we do know is that it will not.Jonathan Carr-West is chief executive of the LGiU

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POLICY

Fit for which future?

By Jonathan Carr-West | 16 June 2026

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