Judge councils on their local record
British politics can sometimes appear to be inverted. Westminster politicians spend years dreaming up grand schemes, and are judged on the state of the local roads. Conversely, voters are often tempted to use local elections as a sort of indicative vote on the national government. Those in areas holding council elections today will have to confront these muddled lines of politics.
Undoubtedly, local decisions have a more tangible impact on day-to-day life than many issues debated in the Commons. The results of abstract arguments over international law naturally come second to the more mundane question of whether the pothole on the high street has been fixed or the bins have been collected. Yet councillors and local parties have themselves blurred the lines between council and national issues. Their communications often seem to neglect the nuts and bolts tasks of delivering high-quality public services in favour of exciting sloganeering, with the fate of a bus route falling lower in the list of priorities than the latest political trivia.
Some local politicians argue that their lack of delivery is due to their insufficient powers, contending that their hands are tied by central government. This may be true to some extent: the Covid lockdowns, for instance, showed just how difficult it can be for localities to chart their own course. Britain did not see the sort of resistance to draconian rules offered by devolved US authorities, and failed to reap the benefits that such deviation produced for states such as Florida.
Nevertheless, it is also true that if councils want greater freedoms, they will need to be their own champions and prove that they can use their existing powers effectively. Already, there are major differences in performance between them. In some places the devolution of powers has proved a success, with leaders using their freedoms to cut council tax, build financial reserves and provide more efficient services. In others, however, sloth and inertia reign, with councils overseeing undriveable roads and litterstrewn streets. Some are even flirting with working fewer days of the week.
Some voters will today have an opportunity to either affirm their local council’s course, or act to set it on the right path. Local politicians should be judged on their records, rather than on Westminster dramas. And if they deliver, they will have made a strong case for greater powers.