The LGA must keep on course
One of Franklin D Roosevelt’s famous wartime election slogans was ‘Would you change horses in the middle of a stream?’
While the LGA is hardly on the scale of the American presidency, it is, nonetheless, in the uncomfortable situation of potentially changing horses in the middle of a raging torrent – in this case, the credit crunch, recession, Icelandic banks, Wall Street financial scandals, ballooning pension fund costs, the list goes on…
The LGA’s chief executive, Paul Coen, may stay or he may go, but even before the news of his differences with the administration went public last week, the association was already in the process of looking for a deputy. The incorporation of the central bodies into the LGA has also meant the imminent departure of old hands such as Lucy de Groot at the IDeA, and Stephen Taylor at the Leadership Centre.
Furthermore, the LGA has undergone a radical internal shake-up.
There were suggestions that his handling of the Icelandic banks’ saga on Radio 4’s Today in October did for Paul Coen, which is unlikely. There are plenty of more robust interviewees who have undergone a mauling on that programme.
What matters now is that the LGA gets over its internal difficulty as fast as possible so that it can devote its energy to the pressing external agenda. Its political leadership is experienced, but it needs a strong officer cadre. At the most challenging time in its short history, the LGA does not want to be immersed in internal administrative issues, its eye off the ball.
As our front page this week shows, local government is directly affected by the recession, with a decline in charging income coinciding with a rise in demand for its services. Dark clouds gather in the form of long-term budget restraints and efficiency targets. The CBI is currently assaulting the airwaves with complaints about public sector pensions and business rate supplements, all of which need a riposte.
The LGA, which has successfully established itself as the voice of local government, must not now suffer a dose of laryngitis.
Michael Burton, Editor, The MJ
