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The Conservatives' unveiling last week to county council leaders of their plans for local government, should they win a general election in 2010, show changes but little appetite for revolution or indeed much reform.

There are pledges to tinker here and there with funding, scrap the Aunt Sally of the Standards Board, get rid of the RDAs (easier said than done considering the other more expected pressing legislation), abolish the CAA (ditto, it will be already up and running a year by the time a Conservative government gets its feet under the desk) and shake a fist at council tax without actually abolishing it.

David Cameron and his team know that their foot soldiers reside in their shire councillors. He and his Shadow Cabinet colleagues have to ensure that the manifesto includes a nod in their direction but also know that their priorities do not include major reform to local government.

For local government managers this will come as some relief.

There is enough on the real agenda, dealing with the recession and other socio-economic challenges, without having to handle political parties' pet projects.

But the Conservatives' plans are also a reflection of how far down the improvement road local government has come in the past decade. The 18-month period leading up to the 1997 general election was a time not dissimilar to ours with an Opposition confident as now that power was within its grasp.

The difference was that Tony Blair's leadership was distinctly lukewarm about its own councils' ability to deliver services and hence best value was born and thereafter CPA.

In comparison, last week's Conservative presentation made no mention of local government performance. If anything the bonus was on giving town and shire halls more, not less, powers to do the job and more, not less, inspection.


The parties can argue over which of them was responsible for making the step changes. The fact is local government performance has and continues to improve and no political party, in the run up to the election, now regards it as a liability.

Michael Burton, Editor, The MJ