Labour would create a new commission that would allow councillors to influence every decision that affects local authorities if the party won a General Election.
Shadow local government secretary Andrew Gwynne detailed the plans for a local government commission - made up of leaders from all types of local authority - in a speech to a Local Government Association Labour conference in Warwick.
The commission would meet every month with the local government secretary and other cabinet ministers to ‘inform decision-making’.
In his speech, Mr Gwynne argued that councils are hugely neglected by the centre of government.
He said: ‘For nine years, ministers have sat in meetings in Whitehall and cut funding to councils hundreds of miles away, never having to see the library that is closed, the potholes that go unfixed and the elderly people that go without care as a result.
‘To fix our broken political system, which has left people disconnected and disillusioned with Westminster politics, we need to put local people and communities at the heart of decision-making.
‘We need their guidance, your support and your advice in ensuring that from Whitehall to our town halls we are being as effective as possible in helping our hardworking communities.’
