Mike Whitby’s fight for autonomy in Birmingham
Nov 27 2008 By Jonathan Walker, Political Correspondent
Mike Whitby is on the warpath. Like a home-grown George Washington, he’s been fighting for independence from a despotic government in London.
Coun Whitby, leader of Birmingham City Council, has set out the case for a dramatic increase in the powers of local authorities. In a submission to a House of Commons inquiry, he suggested that local councils should be allowed to take over most of their local NHS services, and control police forces by receiving a majority of seats on policy authority boards.
He’s also calling for councils to receive far more autonomy over how they raise and spend funding. For example, if they succeed in promoting economic growth, they should be allowed to keep the extra business rates, he says.
This could have allowed Birmingham to refurbish New Street station without going cap in hand to the government, according to the local authority.
The idea that local councils could become more powerful has been around for a long time.
One of the criticisms of Margaret Thatcher was that she distrusted local government and centralised power in London.
But when Labour came in to power, it was no better. By increasing the number of targets public services must meet, it effectively forced them to follow policy decisions made in Whitehall.
And it gave a range of powers to new regional bodies – which were accountable to ministers in London, not to councillors locally.
In the past couple of years there’s been agreement from all parties that the process has gone too far, and councils need to be revived.
But there’s been very little action to match the rhetoric.
Just this week, the government
published something called the sub-national review, setting out its plans to reform local government, but the conclusions were disappointing.
Hazel Blears, the local government secretary, had been talking about devolving power away from Whitehall, but there were very few concrete proposals in the review when it finally arrived.
The government does want to create “leaders boards” comprised of council leaders from neighbouring authorities, designed to replace the old unelected regional assemblies, which are being scrapped.
But they will monitor the huge government quangos which are responsible for delivering housing and transport in each region – they won’t control them. Government ministers will still have the final say.
The Conservatives paint themselves as the party which believes in “localism”, but the national party is still in the process of drawing up local plans.
So Coun Whitby has decided to take the bull by the horns and lead a campaign for real local government – coincidentally, stealing a march on Manchester, which is sometimes portrayed as England’s most innovative local authority.
I’m told his campaign has only just begun.
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