Former local government minister, Nick Raynsford, has delivered a broadside against the recent empowerment White Paper, accusing it of ‘platitudes' and a failure to address key issues. Writing in The MJ this week, he says: ‘It is a case of real sadness that the first White Paper on local government since the Lyons inquiry has so spectacularly failed to address the key themes he highlighted.' He adds: ‘It is not true that the Lyons review is entirely ignored. I did manage to find one reference to it, on page 21 of the White Paper. ‘But what was deeply shocking to me was the total failure even to begin to address his report's main conclusions, which were fundamental to the future of local democracy in England.' He says that while citizen engagement is important, it is ‘one part of a larger picture' along with powers and financial discretion. The former minister also derides the content of the White Paper, launched a fortnight ago by Hazel Blears, saying ‘we are offered a series of embarrassing photographs of people holding placards proclaiming, "I want to have my say", or, "I want to get involved". ‘The advertising agency which arranged the photoshoot no doubt persuaded ministers that these trite images represented the aspirations of "real people". To this observer, however, they represent only the substitution of cliché and platitude for serious analysis.' And he adds that ‘many commentators have reflected on the decline in the quality of government publications in recent years.'
