People up and down the country will have their own reasons for not voting Conservative in the General Election – it is a sad truth that almost every Government and every career in politics has to end in failure.
But where my own party really missed the mark in our 14 years at the helm was in two major areas – not allowing local government to plan ahead in terms of finances and reforming Adult Social Care.
Sadly, looking at the slightly underwhelming King's Speech last week, these two topics are missing once again.
The UK cannot afford one more Government – whether Labour or Conservative – side-stepping adult social care because it is just too difficult.
Local Government finances are in dire straits – in some areas it will be mismanagement, and that is indisputable. But in many areas, it is all about not having the ability to plan ahead and really make the most of what we already have. The Local Government settlement being an annual event - that usually is pushed back until the day before Christmas almost as an afterthought – isn't good enough for organisations that provide immediate and urgent services to people across the country. Local Government is often the first point of contact between resident and state.
Angela Rayner has written to all of us in the last week, outlining devolution and local decision making is top of the agenda - and that councils are important to this new government with an underlying understanding that changes need to be made. However, and urgently, we need more than welcome words – we need cold, hard detail, figures, and plans. I can assure those in No10, the treasury, and MHCLG that they will find a very, very, receptive sector, open to the challenges we face and used to working together, across political divides, to solve them.
In local government, finances and the way we look at them are predominately shaped by three things – the ability to plan, the cost of temporary accommodation and of building homes, and the rising costs and challenges in adult social care.
I was incredibly surprised to see a Labour Government dodge the latter completely in terms of bills read out by the King. How long do we wait to take care of the elderly in a proper way, with proper resources, proper funding, and a proper national structure? This system has been dysfunctional for many years, and only kept afloat by dedicated people in local authorities and in health authorities that truly care about what they are doing. It isn't sustainable, and the next budget needs to have a massive focus on this issue and how the public health, adult social care and NHS systems work together and link with the necessary coordination that is required.
The UK cannot afford one more Government – whether Labour or Conservative – side-stepping adult social care because it is just too difficult.
One positive to pick out, but which won't attract the same level of headlines as the announcements on housing, planning, and finances. The progress of a Hillsborough Law is a hugely welcome and important step to ensure victims of tragedy get the truth quickly, compelling public authorities to be honest and proactively cooperate with official investigations and inquiries. Through our own involvement with the Grenfell Inquiry we have seen how adopting a duty of candour and taking a transparent approach can help to make real change happen. In recent years we have worked with and received advice from the Right Revd James Jones, the former Bishop of Liverpool, who created the Hillsborough Charter, and we were the first public sector organisation to sign up to the charter after the Grenfell Tower tragedy in 2017.
What has become clear through our own experience is the charter is a very powerful tool, not only after an emergency and dealing with serious failings, but also in day to day work and building relationships. A Hillsborough Law could be something that public sector organisations commit to daily, and apply to everything they do, and I would expect the local government sector to be amongst the first to lead the way.
It is early days, but I would invite the Government to see how far the Hillsborough Law can go. Maybe into the housing sector including housing associations to help bring about a better quality of living, more accountability, and a greater resident involvement and voice.
Cllr Elizabeth Campbell is the Leader of Kensington & Chelsea LBC
