Despite EU referendum weariness and the fact many local government official bodies are remaining neutral or silent on the issue, Key Cities Group chair, councillor Paul Watson, is right when he says the vote in June is significant for councils.
One thing that bemuses me is why – where local government think-tanks and organisations have ‘come-out’ – they seem so committed to a ‘remain’ position. Why is there not more passion for Brexit in local government circles?
In the decade or so I have been writing for The MJ, there has been incessant moaning about losing power due to top-down impositions from Westminster, hyperbolic pleas to throw off the shackles of dictatorship from a hyper-central government, a ‘cry freedom’ message associated with localism, devolution and regional autonomy.
