Alex Thomson writes for The MJ on the benefits of weak government
Author: Alex Thomson, Localis |
Localis’ Alex Thomson writes in The MJ on why a weak government may be beneficial for councils.
There are plenty in local government whose views on Westminster are not wholly positive but could the coming months see the balance of power tilt back towards the local a little and soften this broadly well-deserved animosity?
A quick glance at the latest opinion polls suggests the forthcoming General Election is unlikely to deliver a decisive result, which means that the next Government is not liable to be a strong one.
Another coalition could be on the cards, but there is no reason to assume that it will be as robust as the most recent one, even if its hue remains the same.
A minority government is also possible, but would, by its very nature, be inherently weak.
And if either Labour or the Conservatives can somehow scrape together a majority, it is unlikely to be big enough to be beyond the reach of the parties’ respective awkward squads of rebellious backbenchers.
So why should local government welcome this political stalemate?
The business community is not keen on instability.
Mervyn King apparently played a key role in pushing through the creation of the last government but it could be good news for those in local government for three reasons.
Firstly, a weak government may not find itself with the raw parliamentary heft to push through some spending cuts, potentially sparing council budgets the worst of the projected gloom.
Secondly, any kind of multi-party government, formal or informal, will be keen to find policies on which all parties agree.
Areas such as health and tax are likely to be contentious, but greater devolution to local government could be common ground and something that would be popular with parties’ local activist bases.
And thirdly, any new government needs to generate some forward momentum and to show that it can deliver.
So local government’s ability to actually get things done could well see the sector asked to take on a more prominent role in some policy areas (think more cohorts like troubled families).
The country may stand on the brink of a new era of shifting political sands, but if weak central government is reciprocated by more power for local government, that may not necessarily be a bad thing.