Independent commission launches to look at future of localism - Charity Times
Because 'there was a general consensus that localism and devolution have slipped down political agendas lately':
The Latest on Localism - Power to Change
'Locality established the Commission on the Future of Localism in 2017, in partnership with Power to Change, and Chaired by Lord Kerslake to consider how to reinvigorate localism and unlock the power of community. The ambition behind the Localism Act is in danger of waning, and the fundamental shift in power from Westminster to communities has not yet been achieved':
Localism Commission « Locality
Their report will be launched tomorrow:
Commission on the Future of Localism report launch « Locality
The Sunday Telegraph was given a rather uncomfortable preview:
Alienated voters 'don't feel Brexit will help them retake control' over decision making
Patrick Sawer, senior reporter 21 JANUARY 2018 • 8:00AM
The vast majority of British people feel they have little if any control over decisions that affect their lives and the future of the country, a new study has found. Voters increasingly feel decision making has been taken out of their hands and is being wielded by a remote clique of politicians at national level, it found.
The report, by one of the country’s most senior civil servants, found growing anger over the fact that people do not feel they are being listened to and that their views are frequently ignored. Lord Kerslake cited the Grenfell fire tragedy as a damning example of what can happen when politicians ignore the demands of people on the ground.
Lord Kerslake told The Telegraph: “We are one of the most over centralised countries in Europe and there is a growing gap between those who are governed and those who govern. The terrible tragedy of Grenfell Tower might possibly have been avoided if one of the richest boroughs in the country had listened more to its poorest residents. Power can no longer be viewed as belonging to decision-makers a the centre to be ‘given away’. We must find a radical new way to involve people from every community, every street and every home across the country in the decisions that affect them.”
The extent of votes’ sense of alienation from the centres of power, whether at regional, national or international level, is so great that they have little faith that Brexit will allow them to “take back control”.
The report by the Commission on the Future of Localism, chaired by Lord Kerslake, found 70 per cent of the British public feel leaving the European Union will give the same or even less control over decisions that affect their local community. And half of British voters believe Brexit will make no difference at all to the amount of control they feel they have over important national decisions. The figure is even the same for those who voted to leave in the 2016 referendum.
The chasm between voters and those who govern them is reflected in the central findings of the report; that 80 per cent of people feel they have little or no control over decisions that affect their country and 71 per cent feel they have little or no control over local decisions.
Lord Kerslake, who was the senior Whitehall official in the department that led on the development and implementation of the Localism Act and was Head of the Civil Service at time of George Osborne’s “devolution revolution”, said: “This Commission has revealed a profound rift between people and political power in Britain today. Attempts by successive governments to decentralise have not addressed this gulf between the governed and those that govern.
“The Localism Act was well intended but accompanied by a gruelling austerity programme and has not been backed up by the resources it needed. The current devolution agenda, whilst welcome, ignores the need for much greater neighbourhood-level participation and control.”
The Commission found signs however that community spirit is still strong in Britain. Although 69 per cent of voters think community spirit in this country has declined over the past 20 years, they took a different view when asked about their own neighbourhoods. People are twice as likely - 41 per cent to 20 per cent - to think community spirit in their own area is strong compared to what it's like at national level.
Only 3% of people polled said that local people currently have the most say over what happens in their local area, compared to 49% saying it is local government and 25% national government. But when asked who should have the most say over half (57%) said it should be local people, with 26% wanting it to be local government and only 3% national government.
The cross-party Commission, which is launching the report on Tuesday, is calling for a stronger partnership between local government and local people, including the transfer of community buildings to local community organisations and more local control of budgets as a way of strengthening people’s sense of involvement in local decision making.
Tony Armstrong, CEO of Locality, a network of local community organisations which set up the commission, said: “When communities work together they can have a powerful and inspirational impact. But we are not making it easy for communities, and there are many more cases where this extraordinary potential lies latent, untapped, or simply ignored.
“It’s time for local leaders and decision makers to change things - strengthening community institutions so that people can get involved, giving up financial control by giving people more of a direct say in setting local budgets, and boosting the community ownership of important buildings and spaces rather than selling them off to private developers.”
A Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government spokesman said: “This Government has taken exceptional action to devolve real power back to our cities and regions. Devolution deals are an opportunity to invest - in some cases over a billion pounds - directly into local economies. New metro mayors are powerful and accountable political figures who have real authority to ensure our regions succeed.
“We are working to make sure communities have a real say in how their services are run. More than 4,000 community assets have been given added protection from pubs to Premier League stadiums and more than 10 million people can decide what gets built in their area, how new buildings should look and what infrastructure is needed.”
Alienated voters 'don't feel Brexit will help them retake control' over decision making
With thanks to:
“Alienated voters ‘don’t feel Brexit will help them retake control’ over decision making” | East Devon Watch
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