The government is forcing our council to choose between two new models of organising in order to provide ‘strong, visible leadership’.
But the white paper on which this is based says it wants to give citizens and communities a bigger say and to reduce the amount of top-down control from central government.
What arrogance! Do they not see the contradiction?
If the Government really wanted to give communities more power, they would be giving local authorities greater powers to raise their own income and changing the electoral system for local government so that the results of elections better reflected how people actually vote (as they have in Scotland). But there is no mention of these things in the white paper.
The council should tell the Government that its limited options are not enough and it should come back when it has proposals that will really offer a fundamental improvement in the status of local government.
Steve Lambert,
Waltham Forest & Redbridge Green Party.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel