What a brilliant LGA conference in Bournemouth this year, with nearly 200 Conservative councillors in attendance.
This showed the LGA at its best, coming together with our differing political perspectives to provide real, credible solutions to the issues we face in the sector today.
I was pleased to welcome Sir James Cleverly MP (Shadow Secretary of State), Kevin Hollinrake MP (Party Chairman) and David Simmonds CBE MP (Shadow Local Government Minister) to the LGA conference this year to meet our Conservative councillors.
We had worthy debate on what local government will look like under the next Conservative government.
“We have been highlighting the disastrous plans to abolish Healthwatch”
What did raise my concern at conference were the comments made by Devolution, Local Growth and Communities Minister Nesil Caliskan MP, which triggered a headline in the Local Government Chronicle – “Minister will ‘kill’ pride in place if councils interfere”.
I won’t hold back in saying that local councillors know the communities they serve best and this level of interference from government should be treated with caution moving forwards.
Our Conservatives on the LGA’s Health and Wellbeing Committee have been using the committee to highlight the disastrous plans put forward by the Government in the Health Bill to abolish Healthwatch.
This independent organisation has done wonders to stand up for patients in our communities and abolishing it shows this Government for what it is!