As the lazy days of summer loom, it is time to do some hard thinking about the options for improvement in local democracy. I write as a passionate advocate for greater powers for local councils, and a recognition that local politicians have a greater sense of local needs and priorities than any unelected centrally-directed organisation and, whisper it softly, MPs based in the Westminster village. There are times when we have to be willing to take risks, and no-where is this more evident than in the current debate on the best governance arrangements for our major English cities. For those with a long enough memory, the discussion on city regions is reminiscent of the creation of metropolitan counties in the 1970s. They weren’t popular then, but had a major impact on regeneration and transport policies. Looking to the future, this debate should be more about how our cities can compete with their major rivals in Europe for inward investment and the range of social and economic development opportunities. The harsh truth is that despite all the undoubted gains for our cities – and I speak as a native Mancunian – they still lag behind their European rivals. Only last week, the respected Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development reported for Newcastle City Council on the potential benefits of a strong city region and elected mayor to combat the region’s democratic deficit and the limited scope for co-ordination among existing councils. Our European rivals have a clear political voice and control over a much larger section of the public realm. This should not be seen as a criticism of existing councils but a recognition that if they want to make an effective case to take over a strategic role in housing investment, policing and transportation, then the current political arrangements simply won’t work. For those who want to see innovation and creativity at a local level, joint committees fall at the first hurdle. Ask yourself, if we had a joint committee of London leaders would we ever have seen the introduction of congestion charging? A crude imposition of the London model is not the answer to the future political governance of our major conurbations but we do want to see a political executive which has clear accountability and visible leadership to the wider electorate and local partners. The decision has to be a local one but at this time of opportunity for local government, someone somewhere has to come up with a real alternative to the ‘convoy system’ of joint committees and invisible leadership. n Paul Wheeler is director of the Political Skills Forum paul.wheeler@politicalskills.com
