A long-standing criticism of the British political system is that local authorities, and local democracy, have been systematically downgraded. Since the 1970s, particularly in England, powers have been centralised. Although local authorities still deliver crucial aspects of housing, schooling, and health and social care, control of policy and funding have largely been assumed by Westminster. “Across Europe, most locally elected bodies have power, resources and the status to match,” says Simon Jenkins in The Guardian. In Britain, local taxation is capped, and services are centrally regulated. But the country is certainly not better run as a result, says Jenkins. “From policing to care homes, from postal services to sewage spills, from youth clubs to potholes, everywhere is failure.”
Proponents of centralisation, though, point to local government’s many failures, not just…
