Tories pledge to strengthen local government
Shadow regions secretary Bernard Jenkin has unveiled new Tory plans to privatise core functions of local government.
Mr Jenkin claimed in a keynote speech that the Conservative Party would roll back “creeping centralisation” introduced by successive governments and restore power to local government in Britain.
“I am here to advocate what amounts to the denationalisation of local government,” Mr Jenkin declared.
“Labour’s approach, under the cover of pseudo-localism, is destroying any sense of local democracy, local empowerment and local citizenship,” he warned. “It is destroying ownership over locally-provided services and the wider sense of belonging in local political communities. Shorn of a local voice and local attachment, many of our communities are simply breaking down. The central state is usurping all sense of individual and collective responsibility.”
Speaking at a New Local Government Network seminar, the shadow minister revealed plans to appoint “social entrepreneurs” to take control of “under-used public assets” such as community halls, parks or vacant land.
“The rebirth of local accountability should allow a rapid scaling down of the unnecessary and counterproductive top-down bureaucracy that has built up over the years,” the Conservative MP said.
“Social entrepreneurs should have the freedom to first manage, and then assume ownership of, under-used public sector assets such as community halls, parks or vacant land. Local people should be able to take direct control of those facilities or public spaces that affect their daily quality of life.”
Mr Jenkin outlined his “four principles of decentralisation”, which are: The strengthening of local bodies, with clear demarcation of responsibilities; Opposition to regional assemblies; Making local councils less dependent on central government grants by allowing them to raise more of what they spend in local taxation; and Ending the government’s drive for “equalisation” of public services across the country.
The shadow regions secretary said that attempts to equalise service provision across the country had failed and claimed that local services would be better under the Tories than they are now. He insisted that “Innovation, efficiency and participation cannot flourish unless we let local disparities grow”.
Mr Jenkin also criticised the Thatcher government in his speech for introducing rate capping on councils, a policy brought in by his father Patrick, as environment secretary in the 80s.
