What most people experience of government most of the time is local – the condition of roads, bin collections and other services that make the difference between communities thriving or sinking. But the salience of local experience is not reflected in the power of local politicians. Britain has an ultra-centralised state. Councils are obliged by law to run balanced budgets, but with few levers to innovate in policy delivery or raise revenues. They are not trusted by Whitehall to raise public debt. They must apply the sharp end of the knife for cuts mandated from on high.
Since 2010, local councils in England have suffered a funding shortfall that, once inflation and other pressures are factored in, amounts to a drop in spending power of around 50%. The consequences are laid bare in a report published on Wednesday by the Local Government Information Unit (LGIU) thinktank.
