Darlington Green Party have expressed their concerns about the Labour
Government’s proposals to reform the structures of local government.
The English Devolution White Paper was published in mid-December with the
claim that Government will devolve more powers to the local level and give
people more power over the things that matter to them. The proposals
include developing new Strategic Authorities in areas where they don’t
currently exist and giving new powers to elected regional mayors.
Not all Mayoral Combined Authorities will be treated the same. Kim
McGuinness, the Mayor covering the North East Combined Authority who was
elected in May, will receive more powers as an Established Mayoral Strategic
Authority than Lord Houchen in Tees Valley. Houchen, who was elected in
2017, was not deemed eligible for these enhanced powers.
The White Paper also sets out plans to replace the remaining two-tier district/
county structures with unitary authorities, and to reform unitary councils
where there is “evidence of failure” or where their size or boundaries are
perceived as a problem. Any new unitary authorities are likely to have a
population of 500,000 and upwards. Only one of the existing unitary
authorities in the North East, County Durham, has a population of that size.
Local government funding was cut by between 40% and 70% in the decade
2010-20[1]. While the government has indicated that it will rebuild local
government, it has not promised to return their funding to 2010 levels.
Matthew Snedker, leader of the Green Group on Darlington Borough Council
said, “there is no question that local democracy is in urgent need of reform,
but these proposals do not deliver the change nor the resources that local
councils and communities need. Instead, they risk undermining local
decision-making by concentrating power in remote super-councils and
regional mayoral offices, stripping influence away from the very communities
these reforms claim to serve. I do not want to see Darlington merged into a
Tees Valley wide authority or taken over by Durham County Council, nor do I
think we should lose out because of the ineptitude
of Ben Houchen.
“Council finances have been cut to the bone, and democracy eroded as power
is restricted to largely unaccountable Mayors and small and unrepresentative
cabinets. The Green Party believes that devolution must mean real
decentralisation, not just a reshuffling of power to larger, more distant bodies.
That is why we will continue to stand up for local government, to ensure it
remains truly local and becomes more democratic. Specifically, we are calling
for:
· Decisions to be taken as close as possible to the people most affected;
· Trusting local communities to know what is best for them;
· Providing councils with the investment they need to deliver meaningful
change;
· Fair voting in local elections through proportional representation.
Green MP Ellie Chowns spoke in the debate on this proposed legislation. She
said, “I welcome the elements of this White Paper that are about devolution,
but we have to recognise that some elements are about concentration. The
Minister has talked about the two-tier premium, but the reality is that his
proposals mean that in some places a local tier will be replaced by a more
distant mayoral tier.
[1]