The minister who first commissioned the Lyons inquiry this week praised it as ‘an impressive report.' Writing in The MJ, Nick Raynsford said that, ‘given the constraints under which he has been operating', the report contained ‘much to guide the development of local government over coming years'. He added that the report moved the debate forward ‘a few degrees', and insisted that ‘a great leap forward' was never on the cards since reform was ‘a marathon not a sprint'. However, Mr Raynsford, who as local government minister asked Sir Michael to look at the balance of funding, criticised the Government's rejection of changes to tax banding or revaluation. Blaming ‘fear of an electoral backlash fuelled by self-interest', he said ‘we will have to wait longer before the nettle is grasped.'
