Prime Minister Andy Burnham says he wants to take power out of Westminster and put it into every postcode. The test is whether he will match that promise with authority, resources and discretion.
Councils have been treated as delivery agents for decisions made elsewhere.
They carry the risk, manage the consequences and answer to residents, while Whitehall keeps the money and the final say. That is not devolution. It is centralisation with better branding.
Councils are not branch offices of the state. They are democratic institutions rooted in place, charged with defending local interests, expressing the will of residents and shaping the future of their communities.
“Councils have been treated as delivery agents for decisions made elsewhere”
That principle matters most when decisions are contentious.
If the Home Office or its contractors seek to place asylum accommodation in a community, local representatives should not be spectators. They should have the power to challenge, reshape or reject proposals in light of local circumstances and democratic consent.
Local leaders understand where growth is blocked, where services are failing and where national policy collides with local reality. Different places require different answers.
Real devolution means multi-year funding, fewer ringfenced grants, greater fiscal freedom and meaningful control over decisions with local consequences.
The choice is simple: put real power into every postcode, or leave Westminster in command. Devolution begins where central control ends, in practice, not rhetoric.