F or those who are optimistic about local politics, a report from the Stoke-on-Trent Governance Commission makes grim reading. Stoke was one of the new unitary councils launched on to the world in the late 1990s. Sadly, the last 10 years have not been kind to Stoke, with the forces of globalisation devastating its basic industries, including the pottery industry from where it drew its history and pride. These economic changes impacted on its political structure too, moving from a Labour hegemony of 60 seats – out of 60 – to a complex mixture of seven political groups, including three independent groups. To add to its discomfort, it has seen the growth of the BNP as a significant political force. The commission's recommendations are sweeping. A move to all-out elections, single member wards, a review of the current mayoral arrangements, combined with a reduction in the total number of councillors. Significantly, it calls on national parties to commit to support their local organisations to provide the strong, ‘made in Stoke' political leadership desperately needed to address the social and economic challenges local communities currently face. Local politics has to be about passion and pride as well as providing strong and strategic leadership. We should be looking to our main political parties to provide a range of committed and capable candidates and prevent the rise of extremist parties and politics. And that's where we hit the rocks of political reality. For, the sad truth is, that under the current political system, Stoke does not feature. None of its parliamentary constituencies are likely to feature in the next general election campaign. So none of the millions provided to key seats by the Conservative peer, Lord Ashcroft, are likely to find their way to Stoke. Welcome as the report is, it cannot resolve the issue of a lack of profile and respect for local politics in the main parties. And that really is the challenge.
