Lee Scott

Conservative Party | Ilford North

View from the House

To The Editor, Ilford Recorder

11th September 2009

In a letter to the Communities and Local Government Secretary of State a Labour Member of Parliament has suggested the UK Government is stuck in an age of Brezhnev like command politics with centralised control of local government. Even I might not sign up completely to this idea but I can understand where he is coming from. When the Prime Minister speaks it is reminiscent of the Soviet era announcement of the statistics of tractor production in the latest five-year plan. No one believes what is being said, not even the PM. Over recent years Britain has become one of the most centralised countries in the developed world and under New Labour this trend has quickened.

Local people have far too little say over the decisions that directly affect their lives. Under this Government the expansion of top-down central and regional government control has undermined local authorities. Without effective command and control communities are made weaker and social responsibility and local involvement are being restrained.

I do not believe that the best place to come up with new policy initiatives is a unit in Whitehall. In my opinion local councils are often the best sources of new policies and ideas. We must ensure that we give people more power and control over the services that are delivered in their areas and by this we can encourage a new spirit of civic pride in our local communities.

We must allow local authorities to benefit financially when they supply the housing that local people want and need. In addition local authorities must be given the right to retain the financial benefits arising from new business activity in their areas.

There is a real need to devolve power from regional quangos back down to local councils. Our target must be to abolish all regional planning and housing powers exercised by regional government, abolish the Government Office for London and devolve its functions to London boroughs or the Mayoralty and Greater London Authority.

My aspiration is for a much more decentralised society, economy and policies that deliver a renewed democracy and strengthened local communities.