Lib Dems want more power of local government

Date published: 07 August 2006

The Liberal Democrats claim Rochdale MBC will have more power to tackle local problems if their proposals gain support.

The party's conference in September is expected to back plans to tell Whitehall bureaucrats to get their tanks off town hall lawns.

Rochdale Euro-MP Chris Davies insists that the key change will be to ensure that local councils become responsible for raising most of their own finance.

He said: "He who pays the piper calls the tune, and this is why local government in Britain is so powerless.  Almost all of its money is controlled by central government.

"You can love the way the local council is run, or you can hate it, but it is always better to have decisions taken by people elected locally than by civil servants in London who know nothing about this area.

"If local electors don't like the way that things are done, they should have the power to change it.  At present, local votes count for too little because Whitehall pulls all the strings."
 
Britain is regarded by many as the most centralised state in Europe, with an enormous proportion of power concentrated in central government.

In a policy paper, 'Your Community, Your Choice,' the Liberal Democrats call for local councils to be given general powers to tackle any problem regarded as important by the community it serves.

They want business rates to be set by local government and for council taxes to be replaced by a local income tax based upon the ability to pay.

A proportional voting system for local councillors will be introduced in Scotland next year and Liberal Democrats say that the same principle of 'one vote, equal value' should also be introduced in England.

Mr Davies says that his party will place unelected government agencies (QUANGOS) under local control, including the health commissioning powers of NHS Primary Care Trusts.

He claims that in some parts of the North West unelected agencies spend £8 for every £1 spent by local councils.