Political Petri dishes
Author: The Economist |
Alex Thomson, Chief Executive of Localis, is quoted in an Economist article this week about bold and innovative councils.
MIMI ASHER, a single mother living on the Myatt’s Fields housing estate in south London, was horrified when she learned that her son had joined a gang. She asked a local council officer for advice on what to do. The response, she remembers, was a curt: ?leave it to the professionals?.
That retort now seems not just daft but a relic of a more complacent, richer era. Lambeth council’s budget has been sharply cut since the financial crisis, forcing the local authority to question its monolithic role. Inspired in part by Ms Asher, who ignored its advice and set up a successful programme to get people out of gangs, the council is now giving locals the resources they need to solve their own problems. A youth co-operative, for example, will soon take on responsibility for social clubs and playgrounds, as well as a slice of the council’s budget.
Local government is stirring. In 2010 the coalition government cut overall funding by 28% over five years, with further reductions now likely. Councils first complained. Then many buckled down and concocted innovative ways of meeting residents’ needs. Some, like Lambeth, are rethinking the role of government. They are influencing other councils and, increasingly, Westminster politicians too.
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