Everything has its season – or so it is said. Seasons govern our lives, from the natural progression of the year from solstice to solstice to human order arrangements, such as school terms and sporting calendars.
And we certainly notice when there is any departure from the norm.
Organisations create or maintain their own seasons for cultural and workload reasons. The Local Government Association has settled into its own patterns. Some of these follow external influences, including the parliamentary timetable for legislation. Others are more specifically focused, such as the cycle of elections.
The LGA is currently in its busiest season of the year. Typically, this lasts from the spring local government elections, through the early summer annual conference, to the early autumn party political conferences and the beginning of a new parliamentary session.
This year, the season has been truncated and intensified, owing to annual local ballots being postponed to June to coincide with the European election cycle.
As the news pages of The MJ have reported in recent weeks, the political balance of the LGA has altered significantly. Leadership of the LGA is based on share of the popular votes cast in local elections. The Conservative Party is now approaching 50% on this basis, with Labour and Liberal Democrats each representing less than 25%.
It is important to remember that the LGA is a consensus body, with all party political groups and independents sharing in decision-making on a proportionate basis. On most issues, we take a common stance on promoting local government and defining localist solutions to improving people’s lives.
But, taking the season as a whole, there are bound to be tensions. We are living through the longest British election campaign in history.
The economic circumstances caused by the recession alone mean that we face unprecedented pressures as a nation in maintaining living standards as we earn our way in the world. There are bound to be different political perceptions on and various solutions proposed for all this.
Yet, I am convinced that this is the season in which the overwhelming case for local solutions will shine through.
On any relative measure, local government has out-performed the rest of the public sector.
We must seize the moment.
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