The Strange Demise of the Local in Local Government

Table of Contents

1. Frontmatter

2. Chapter 1. Setting the Scene

   Steve Leach, Colin Copus

   Abstract

   Over the past 50 years, local government in England has been progressively losing its link to the places and communities which matter to local people and with which they identify. This scenario is a matter of real concern and constitutional significance. Explaining how it has come about and highlighting its negative consequences are the main themes of the book. One outcome of the trend has been the increasing average size of local authorities in England, which is now over ten times greater than any European comparator. The ‘bigger is better’ argument, favoured by successive governments, which has led to the disappearance from the local government map of many ‘real places’, such as Barrow and Carlisle in Cumbria, is premised on the view that local authorities are merely agencies for service delivery, when in principle they should be seen as proactive governmental agencies, meeting the needs of local communities, as epitomised by the term ‘place-shaping’.

3. Chapter 2. The Way Things Used to Be

   Steve Leach, Colin Copus

   Abstract

   The concepts of ‘place’ and ‘community’ continue to provide important points of reference for large numbers of local people, as illustrated by the intensity of support for local football teams as ‘symbols of place’ and for other local institutions. The links between strong community identity and effective local government remain important, despite having been eroded by successive centrally imposed reorganisations. As recently as 1972, the local government map of England represented a much closer fit between strong local identity and local authority definition than it does at present, a situation not dissimilar to the French communes. Towns with populations as small as 5000 were represented by a local council and allocated responsibilities commensurate with their size. This model had and still has much to commend it.

4. Chapter 3. Reorganisation, Reorganisation, Reorganisation: The Changing Map of Local Government

   Steve Leach, Colin Copus

   Abstract

   Central government can take one of two different approaches to local government reorganisation: a system-wide ‘root and branch’ approach or one focusing on a particular type of authority or part of the country. After 60 years of relative structural stability, two royal commissions were established, the Herbert Commission (which reported in 1961) which dealt with the Greater London metropolis and the Redcliffe-Maud Commission (which reported in 1969) which covered the rest of England. Both were tasked with recommending a structure which took into account the large increase in journey-to-work traffic particularly in and around Greater London and the major provincial city regions. In each case a two-tier county-district system was the eventual outcome, but with districts composed of amalgamations of existing urban and rural authorities, which severed the link between community identity and local authority definition. Subsequent reorganisations (the abolition of GLC and the metropolitan counties (1986), the Banham Commission (1995) and the Labour government’s 2006–08 initiative), all partial reorganisations, have continued the move to larger local authorities, with the introduction of unitary (all-purpose) authorities becoming increasingly common.

5. Chapter 4. Explaining the Persistence of the Unitary Principle in the Department’s Mindset

   Steve Leach, Colin Copus

   Abstract

   Since the Banham Commission reported in 1995, there have been a number of opportunistic attempts by successive Labour and Conservative governments to establish large (300,000 population and above) unitary authorities in shire counties operating a two-tier system. Such initiatives have often been announced by newly appointed ministers with little previous experience of or interest in local government issues. The question is raised as to whether this phenomenon can best be explained in terms of ‘departmental policy’: something which is presented to new ministers as ‘good practice’, despite the lack of evidence that large unitary authorities achieve the claims made for them. Evidence from the 2006–08 ‘bidding process’ and from the recent reorganisation in Cumbria supports a hypothesis that this is indeed the most plausible explanation of events.

6. Chapter 5. A Strange Affair: Local Government Reorganisation in Northamptonshire 2018–21—A Case Study

   Steve Leach, Colin Copus

   Abstract

   The reorganisation in Northamptonshire in 2018, which resulted in the existing system of a county and seven districts being abolished and replaced by two new unitary authorities, provides further evidence for our hypothesis (see Chap. 4). The county was experiencing a financial crisis and a ‘best value’ review was instigated. In previous examples of financial mismanagement in other authorities, independent commissioners had been appointed and had succeeded in putting the authorities concerned back on a secure financial footing. In this case, although commissioners were appointed as a short-term response, the report of the review recommended the reorganisation summarised above. A structural recommendation of this nature to deal with a financial crisis is unprecedented. A detailed analysis of the sequence of events involved suggests a further successful piece of opportunism on the part of the government to further its ‘large unitary authority’ agenda (see Chap. 4).

7. Chapter 6. Doomsday Approaches and then Recedes

   Steve Leach, Colin Copus

   Abstract

   Early in 2020, following the Conservative general election victory of December 2019, a new reorganisation initiative was announced which would abolish the two-tier local government in the shire counties where it still operated and replace it with unitary authorities with populations of 300,000 and above. Unsubstantiated arguments were made that this would somehow contribute to government’s ‘levelling up agenda’. Work commenced in the counties concerned, but was halted later that year by Robert Jenrick, the Secretary of State concerned, when the scale of the Covid epidemic became apparent, although the process was permitted to go ahead in Somerset, North Yorkshire and Cumbria. There was however a retreat signalled by the Minister, who emphasised in a letter to local authority Conservative leaders that there would be no more ‘top down’ reorganisation imposed by Whitehall. It is likely that this change of policy direction was influenced by many Conservative MPs who were resistant to the prospect of a structural upheaval in their constituencies. But opportunities are likely to be sought to reintroduce this measure when the time is judged to be right.

8. Chapter 7. What Is the Problem About Two-Tier Local Government?

   Steve Leach, Colin Copus

   Abstract

   The two main criticisms of two-tier local government are that it is confusing to the public, who may not understand the division of functions between a county and district; and that it results in an overlap and duplication between the two tiers. Any such confusion is negligible, compared with difficulties the public may have in understanding the division of responsibilities among the large number of public sector organisations who operate in any given area. Overlap and duplication can be seen in positive terms, as providing mechanisms for the expression of different political views—local and strategic—about a particular issue or policy and an opportunity for debate and resolution. Two- or in some cases three-tier systems of local government are to be found in almost all European countries (and in the USA), where they are not seen as problematical. The unitary obsession and the preference for large conglomerate local authorities are peculiar to Britain and is still being played out across England.

9. Chapter 8. Why Bigger Is Not Better

   Steve Leach, Colin Copus

   Abstract

   On the basis of a review of over 300 pieces of research evidence it can be demonstrated that the relationship between authority size and performance (efficiency and effectiveness) is unproven; the evidence is inconclusive. On the other hand, the evidence shows that there is a clear relationship between size of authority and the quality of local democracy (as measured by electoral turnout, accessibility of councillors and many other criteria): as size increases so the quality of local democracy deteriorates. The case for large county-based unitary authorities in England is further undermined by a recognition of its incompatibility with community identity, public preference and the fact that most counties in England do not comprise areas which have viability as foci for economic development. If the agenda of the 2020 reorganisation had been taken forward, the disparity between average local authority size in England and in Europe, already substantial, would become even greater and lead to a situation where the term ‘local’ could no longer meaningfully be applied to sub-national government in England.

10. Chapter 9. Where Do We Go from Here?

    Steve Leach, Colin Copus

    Abstract

    It would be possible to reverse the direction of the move to large unitary authorities without the need for a formal commission-based reorganisation, which is unlikely to be seriously considered in the foreseeable future by any form of government. The combined authority model could be extended to other parts of the country (e.g. the Portsmouth/Southampton city region), wherever appropriate, and its accountability strengthened through direct election. Rural regions could be designated in other parts of the country. An organic process, based on the principle of subsidiarity, could be introduced whereby any pre-1974 county borough, municipal borough or urban district could (subject to a local referendum) reclaim its former status and be allocated responsibilities commensurate with its size and socio-economic nature. In this way, the significance of the ‘local’ in local government could be reintroduced and the move towards large unitary conglomerate authorities halted and reversed.

11. Backmatter