Councils must put residents above all

THE Government last week dangled the promise of more money and power to councils which are prepared to take on a directly-elected mayor and a ‘combined authority.’ Again.

The deal is simple: Scrap the two-tier council system in Lancashire, and replace it with unitary authorities similar to Blackburn with Darwen, Bury and Rochdale.

Regular readers will know this column has long been in favour of such a move, so long as Lancashire County Council isn’t the last authority standing. It needs to go, and borough councils need to merge to create local, fully-accountable authorities.

There was even news that all council leaders in Lancashire had agreed to the principle of a

‘combined authority’ - progress in itself. But in the latest episode of ‘Turkeys Don’t Vote for Christmas’ it’s Burnley Council’s turn to throw a spanner in the works.

It has rejected any merger of East Lancashire local authorities as part of a local government reorganisation.

It does support a combined authority - essentially supporting the creation of three tiers of government in Lancashire, something the government simply won’t let happen.

Blackburn with Darwen Council is proposing a Pennine Lancashire authority which would include Pendle, Burnley, Rossendale, Blackburn with Darwen and Hyndburn. Lancashire is already home to some of the most deprived areas of the country. It can ill-afford to miss out on extra cash and powers. At some point, all councils need to work for the good of residents in our area - it needs to happen now.