James Gretton, Southampton Socialist Party
Labour’s English Devolution white paper proposes reorganising large parts of local government. Merging many district councils into larger unitary authorities will impact local democracy and public services. (See ‘Labour’s council merger plans are an attack on local democracy’ at socialistparty.org.uk). Over half of the 21 county councils with elections this year have applied to postpone them this year as a result.
Councillors across Hampshire, including in Southampton, have requested their councils be consolidated into a combined authority. Hampshire authorities’ joint devolution request includes an elected mayor. Hampshire’s population is almost two million. This artificial formation of combined authorities would reduce accountability and transparency. There will be fewer elected representatives making decisions on vital services which effect people’s livelihoods.
Council services have suffered from over a decade of cuts. Without councillors fighting for the resources needed things will continue down that path. Under the plans, services would lose specialised knowledge and it would reduce the already limited democratic accountability. We would have a combined authority dictating the fate of services distant from them and the communities that rely on them.
Labour MPs have exalted the need for reorganisation to take advantage of new economic opportunities. But who will benefit the most? Outsourcing corporations that facilitate the privatisation of public services and make profits from what used to be public services.
Southampton’s council touts the Solent Freeport as an example of investment that has benefited local communities. In reality, these special tax zones are most beneficial to the private sector. When businesses move into areas like Solent due to more attractive tax arrangements, the rest of the region is deprioritised.
If the English Devolution Bill is intended to make local government more democratic, why does it enable one of the most valuable resources of local government – our public services – to be kept out of public control? Larger councils will be able to sell off more services to the highest bidder and, with fewer elections, face less scrutiny for doing so. United in this process are the pro-big business Labour government, councillors who disparage, cut and privatise public services, and the corporations seeking to profit from them.
There is also the issue of local government debt. Due to councillors accepting the Tory government’s austerity and unsuccessful building ventures, Woking council has £2 billion of debt. Councils across Surrey, which has faced a backlash after applying to postpone elections, have £5.5 billion of debt. These new unitary authorities will come into being weighed down by massive debts and tasked with administering services cut to the bone by austerity. We say: cancel the debt, fight for the resources we need and take the wealth off the super-rich.
There are no plans for referendums to determine the popularity of these devolution measures, leaving local people disenfranchised. The continuation of austerity and threats posed to local democracy is not going unnoticed. By uniting and fighting for the resources and services we need, communities’ voices won’t go unheard. We need working-class action for needs-based budgets, bringing our services back into public ownership and increasing democratic control of our local communities.