Bankrupt, rat-infested Birmingham shows why local government matters
With local elections across much of England, it’s time we took regional accountability much more seriously, says Simon Clarke
Next Thursday, there are local elections across much of England. For many people, these events will pass them by entirely. For others, they will be purely an opportunity to send a message about national politics: it seems likely that both Reform UK and the Liberal Democrats will enjoy good nights, capturing the protest vote of both the Right and Left respectively. Despite Labour’s woes, it may be a particularly difficult night for the Conservatives, defending a high watermark of almost un-repeatedly good results achieved when Boris Johnson eased lockdown restrictions four years ago.
At one level, so far so normal. But local government deserves to be treated more seriously. This is not simply because it would be self-indulgent for Middle England to further reward Lib Dem leader Ed Davey for reducing politics to a series of ridiculous stunts. It’s because what happens in local government touches upon people’s quality of life and future opportunities in ways that really matter.
Events in Birmingham, where the Labour council has first bankrupted the UK’s second city, then raised council tax by 17.5 per cent in two years, and finally lost control of its most basic function – rubbish collection – to the point where rats roam huge piles of waste, prove why we all should care about who we elect to serve in our council chambers. Cat-sized rats and possibly wannabe Pied Pipers aside, nobody is celebrating this shambles.
What would Joseph Chamberlain think?
There is a tragic irony to Birmingham being led by such mediocrities, for it was that city that so spectacularly exemplifies the power of local government to do good. One hundred and fifty years ago, Mayor Joseph Chamberlain delivered a transformative programme of civic improvement. His slum clearance around Corporation Street reduced the death rate in the city centre by more than half in the course of the 1870s. He improved water supplies and gas lighting, built libraries, municipal swimming polls and schools and founded a free Art Gallery and Museum.
These feats are not something limited to the Victorian age. The incredible legacy of Sir Howard Bernstein, the Chief Executive of Manchester City Council from 1998 to 2017, proves that excellence in local government can still be delivered today. Rebuilding the city centre after the 1996 IRA attacks, Sir Howard’s other achievements include the Manchester Metrolink, the Sportcity district in east Manchester and the transformation of Manchester Airport.
If local government is going to deliver to its full potential, it needs to operate at a strategic scale. That’s why the local government reforms being delivered by Angela Rayner are broadly right – ending the fragmentation of our councils by championing strong, unitary authorities, that in turn can form constituent parts of combined authority Mayoralties led by directly-elected Mayors. This reform programme builds on the Levelling Up white paper published by the previous government, and will help to make it easier to deliver good, effective local government of the kind Ben Houchen, Andy Burnham and Andy Street have all championed – and Boris Johnson before them here in London.
Mayors appearing regularly in front of Select Committees could help to distinguish those who are adding value from those who are not
Good government at any level requires sharp public accountability. As Mayors in particular are given more powers to operate over larger geographies, so they should face more parliamentary scrutiny in the way that (for example) government ministers do. Mayors appearing regularly in front of Select Committees could help to distinguish those who are adding value from those who are not. National government could also allow pilot projects to be trialled in particular Mayoral regions to see whether they could sensibly be rolled out at national level.
But the ultimate form of accountability is you, the public. If you have a vote next week, the only way to make a difference is to use it.
Sir Simon Clarke is the director of Onward, the centre-right thinktank, and a former Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government.