There has been a lot talk about the death of localism in England because of supposed recent government actions. But I think there is a fundamental flaw in this thinking, in that surely localism should be about the collective will of people and communities and not just sitting there waiting for government policy to change things.
That is why last year, the National Association of Local Councils (NALC), with the All Party Parliamentary Group on Local Democracy, started a ‘What Next for Localism?’ inquiry.
No longer do central and principal local authorities completely control the terms with which they engage with communities. They have to respond to challenges about the future of public services and assets; the communities and people will drive this conversation.
It is here where we have the starting point for the next evolution of localism in this country. More than anything we must come up with radical new ideas to help communities truly flourish into the future.
We want this discussion to be open, transparent and inclusive. We want to hear from everyone with an interest and passion for local democracy and neighbourhood action, be they involved locally or nationally. At the moment there is no deadline for contributions; we want as many of you to have your say and plenty of time to do it.
We want to hear more of your ideas to help shape the future for local communities and help us answer the question: what next for localism? Visit and submit ideas to www.whatnextforlocalism.org
We are also holding a ‘What Next for Localism?’ event in London on 26 March 2014, where you can discuss what the future might be for communities and local people.
Ken Browse is chairman of the National Association of Local Councils
