Extract below from a really interesting article by Peter McColl, who sadly was not elected this week. This is somehing we should all read I think.
"But the reality is that since the Concordat in 2007 Local Government has had power unprecedented since Thatcher started to undermine local government in the 1980s. The agreement between Finance Secretary John Swinney and the umbrella organisation for Local Government in Scotland CoSLA had a significance that has rarely been understood.
As the new Scottish Parliament took shape in the early years of this century it very often defined itself against Local Government. It’s clear that, rather than seeking more power from Westminster, MSPs sought to ‘make local government work’. The main instrument in this strategy was the ring fence. More and more money was released to local authorities in pots that had to be dedicated to a purpose determined by ministers. Councillors were deemed unable or unfit to make strategic decisions, and were left only to decide on delivery.
Finally, Jack McConnell used the second Partnership Agreement with the Liberal Democrats in 2003 to push through a package of proportional representation for local government alongside remuneration packages to encourage long-serving Councillors to step aside. This meant that a very large number of new Councillors were elected and areas that had been run by Labour administrations for decades were suddenly in no overall control.
Then, in return for a three-year freeze on Council Tax Local Authorities were granted freedom from ring fencing in November 2007. They could choose their own priorities, could decide to spend money as they wished and should have been in a position to make big strategic decisions.
But what happened instead was more of the same. Local Authorities continued to do what they’d done before, they were no more strategic; it seemed that they could no longer act with the vigour of their 19th Century forebears, or even the political nous of their 1980s predecessors.
There are several reasons for this. Firstly the Councillors elected in 2007 were elected to administer central government policy, not to make decisions for themselves. It will take some time before the calibre of candidates we need will return to leadership positions – and certainly those elected before such a profound change in the powers of local government were very unlikely to be equipped to handle this level of power.
As Councils became less about local government and more about local delivery of services, so their decision-making became more driven by officials and less driven by politicians. The result is that politicians who want to make decisions don’t get involved in local government.
The focus on local service delivery also stifles those with a broader politics. Under the current system, if you are interested mainly in campaigning to save your local park then you might want to be a Councillor; if you’re interested in human rights, developing a new economy or changing the world, then you won’t want to be a Councillor. But the reality is not only that local government can help to change the world it is also that people who are interested in changing the world often have a better understanding of how a city or area could be better run."
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