It’s time to bring an end to wasteful outsourcing and fix the broken planning system, Green Party leader Zack Polanski told the Local Government Association (LGA) Conference.
He criticised the outsourcing of services like road repairs, describing a system where private contractors are effectively incentivised to under-deliver, and pointed to social care as a starker example, citing large profits extracted by private providers even as councils face rising costs.
‘In the midst of a funding crisis, shocking amounts of public money are being taken out of our communities in the form of private profit,’ he told the conference delegates.
Polanski said developer-led housing targets often ignore local need, with viability assessments letting developers sidestep affordable housing pledges.
He also pledged that a Green government would launch a new wave of council housebuilding, scrap Right to Buy, and give councils stronger powers over long-term empty properties.
The Green leader also called for genuine devolution – more local tax-raising powers, rent controls, and greater community involvement in budgeting and planning – alongside a rethink of council reorganisation, arguing it should be guided by long-term vision rather than short-term cost-cutting.
