The leader of Swindon Council, Councillor Rod Bluh, has claimed that 'true local government' will require local autonomy over public services.
Speaking at a National Association of Local Councillors conference in Birmingham yesterday, Cllr Bluh urges colleagues to stop ‘playing party politics’ in order to make the system work.
‘As a leader of a council you don’t have all those levers to pull,’ he said. ‘If we are really going to make this work, we need to stop playing party political games. We all know there is more that unites us than divides us.’
Speaking at the same conference, director of localism at the Department for Communities and Local Government, David Prout ruled out the prospect of reorganisation from the current government and claimed it’s focus was strongly centred on economic growth.
He warned: ‘We are in a new era of financial reality where expenditure is going to be very tight - and if the Government is going to continue to protect health and education, it will get even tighter.’
For the Twitter feed following the conference, see#strictlylocalism
