Andy Burnham began his premiership with a lot of talk about devolution.
From the start, we argued that devolution should not be contingent on local government reorganisation (LGR), and that it can hardly be called devolution if power is simply consolidated into institutions that remain closer to central government than the communities they serve.
“The decision to pause LGR has thrown the sector into turmoil”
The decision to pause all LGR proposals for review, except ‘go-fastest’ Surrey, has thrown the sector into turmoil.
We consistently warned that the scale and speed of change was too much, particularly alongside new housing targets, planning reform, and the significant pressures already facing adults’ and children’s services.
Yet, being told this was the only rodeo in town, councils pulled out all the stops. Many looked for the positives, as the promise of greater powers and better outcomes for local people were presented as the quid pro quo.
What I hope this latest announcement shows any government is the importance of listening to those with lived experience, including councillors and council staff, and not just people from their own political party.
Listening to experience and perspectives that don’t align with your own makes for better decisions.
- These issues will be at the heart of the 2027 LGA Independent Group Annual Conference, ‘Futures: local voices, future solutions’, in Reading from 30-31 January. See local.gov.uk/events to book.