The local government finance settlement proves to be just another example of the sticking plaster politics we have come to expect from this government.
Council’s are at the forefront of our communities. They provide the local services that we all rely on in our daily lives. From waste management to road maintenance to housing and supporting businesses. Councils allow our communities to thrive and realise their full potential and for 14 years they have done this admirably, even with their hands tied behind their backs.
Today could have been the day the government, after 14 years in power, finally fixed the crisis in local government.
And after a lost decade, today should have been the day to begin turning the tide on the unsustainable and growing crisis in adult social care, children’s services, and homelessness services; and to end the postcode lottery in the vital services which create the communities working people deserve to live in; ones which are clean, green and safe, in return for the now record taxes they pay.
But on every test the government have failed. Councils, of all political stripes up and down the country, covering cities, towns and counties are being forced to the edge.
Labour will ensure that, should we be privileged enough to be elected to government, we will oversee a radical transfer of power out of Westminster and into the hands of the British people through a landmark Take Back Control Act. But we won’t wait, where we can accelerate improvement, we will.
We want a new relationship, between central and local government as genuine partners in power.
We want to see the right powers in the right places.
Our communities are resilient, and so are the Councils that represent them. It is time for Labour to be in government, and ensure that this is finally respected.
Jim McMahon OBE MP 