Labour failing to shift power from Whitehall to local areas, analysis finds

Insiders said the government’s ambitions had run up against the impulse of many ministers and officials who wanted to keep power in the centre. Photograph: WPA/Getty Images

Keir Starmer’s drive to overhaul public services is failing to live up to its aims of shifting power from Whitehall to local areas, a report from the Institute for Government (IfG) has found.

Last summer, the government set out its three guiding principles for reform aimed at making public services such as the NHS, court system and children’s social care easier to access and better at helping people.