Local government secretary Eric Pickles has delivered the closing speech to the LGA conference in Birmingham, thanking councils for helping Britain avoid the fate of Greece’s economy by delivering a tough year of public spending cuts.

'As we watch with the daily uncertainty of our European neighbours with smaller deficits than ours, be in no doubt the tough decisions you took with your council’s budget made a big contribution to our country’s stability and low interest rates,' he told delegates.

Mr Pickles claimed that the coalition's decentralisation agenda – including finance reforms such as the forthcoming tax increment finance (TIF) regime and the localisation of business rates – had led to ‘a decisive, fundamental and irreversible change in England's political geography, one of the world’s most centralised states'.

'We're taking back power away from Whitehall and putting it back in the hands of councils and communities.An end to councils having to come to Whitehall with a begging bowl.'

As strikes continued around the country today, Mr Pickles also echoed prime minister David Cameron's view that without fundamental reform of public sector pensions 'costs will soar'. But he thanked the LGA for its role in ensuring that local government pension reforms are negotiated separately from other public retirement changes, and said future reforms must remain 'fair to employees'.

During a lively question and answer session, the secretary of state also played down fears among areas heavily reliant on equalisation measures built into the current centrally-allocated business rates system that his forthcoming system could see deprived areas stagnate.

Many Labour controlled authorities, particularly in northern England, have expressed fears they could lose vital funding under Mr Pickles reformed business rates regime.

'There's a theory in politics that once on power you punish your enemies. Well, I can assure you that is not going to happen,' he told one delegate.