A plan for a future Labour administration to ‘reform public services and rebuild trust’ has been drawn out by local authority leaders.
Seven Labour council bosses said in a report that because of heavily constrained public spending, the party would need to focus on making better use of existing money.
Devolution should be at the centre of the new agenda, they said, with a ‘renewed, universal’ approach to redistributing power.
The intervention feeds into Labour leader Keir Starmer’s New Year speech announcement that his government would introduce a ‘take back control’ bill to devolve power towards councils and communities.
Co-authors advocated for shifting public spending towards early intervention, putting an end to what Mr Starmer has called ‘sticking-plaster politics’.
They also said a Labour administration should commit to long-term – three to five year – financial settlements for councils to end the current ‘fragile and uncertain’ system.
Other proposals include new rights for communities to own local buildings, tougher enforcement powers for councils and a ‘community impact duty’ that would require public services and agencies to consider the impact of decisions on local people.
The report was co-authored by the council leaders of: Islington, Cllr Kaya Comer-Schwartz; Manchester City, Cllr Bev Craig; South Tyneside, Cllr Tracey Dixon; Camden, Cllr Georgia Gould; Wakefield, Cllr Denise Jeffrey; Ealing, Cllr Peter Mason; and Southwark, Cllr Kieron Williams.
