Conservative plans will free councils to concentrate on local issues, writes Caroline Spelman.

Conservatives and local government have been inextricably linked for centuries.

From small beginnings in the 18th century, to the time of Lord Salisbury and onwards, local democracy has been an integral part of Conservative philosophy; giving local people control over the decisions which effect them most.

This has been mirrored by a healthy scepticism of the ability of central government to achieve the lofty targets to which it frequently commits. As such, the position of the Conservative Party has been significantly different from that of its political contemporaries, who have no qualms about adding to the burdens of an already top-heavy Whitehall bureaucracy.

The last seven years of Labour government has seen an alarming expansion of the civil service, at great expense to the taxpayer, with little in the way of service delivery improvements.

In fact the most notable difference people have felt is in the amount of tax they have had to pay for it. Council tax has risen by over 70 per cent since Labour came to power, much of this as a result of the manipulation of Whitehall funding and huge cost pressures arising from government policy. The double digit increases seen last year rightly incensed many, particularly those on fixed incomes. Last year council tax ceased being one of Labour’s stealth taxes and simply became one of its overt taxes. A recent ICM poll showed that 78 per cent of people blame central government for their council tax increases.

Conservatives recognise that there are problems with the present system of council tax and we will be bringing forward reforms that prevent it being subject to the excesses of Whitehall manipulation and that restore a sense of integrity and fairness to local government funding.

Conservatives believe in transparency and honesty in taxation and it is no coincidence that Conservative run councils deliver the best rated local services and still manage to charge lower levels of council tax than those controlled by other parties.

Council tax is just one area where people feel let down by Labour. People who believe in local democracy and who believe that local people more often than not know both the problems and the solutions of their community better than national government does, have also been let down by Labour.

Since 1997 we have seen more and more powers drawn up from local level. Regional assemblies would deliver yet another hammer-blow to local decision making as they too would draw powers up from local councils rather than devolving them down from central government.

Conservatives oppose regional assemblies. Regional assemblies would merely deliver another costly tier of government for taxpayers to fund, creating more bureaucrats, more regulations and more politicians.

I represent a constituency in the west Midlands and I am sympathetic to the disenchantment people feel about the London-centric establishment.

However, there is simply no appetite for regional assemblies – either in my region or amongst people in the North West, North East or Yorkshire and the Humber, who are to be balloted this autumn.

Instead we should concentrate on delivering far stronger and more effective local government. If the government was serious about decentralisation it would have joined the Conservatives in finding ways to empower local councils and let them serve the needs of their local communities independently of Whitehall interference.

Giving people a strong sense of ownership over the way they are governed locally goes hand in hand with giving people a strong sense of pride in their neighbourhood and this can only be for the good of everyone.

The alternative, stripping councils of local decision-making powers and disengaging people from local politics, is likely to result in apathy and ambivalence.

There are undeniably certain fundamental areas in which Conservatives feel all local councils must deliver. One such example is the environment, Conservatives are determined that preserving and enhancing the natural environment for future generations is crucial. One need only look to plans for concreting over so much green belt land in order to build new houses to understand what little regard this government has for safeguarding the natural environment.

Safety and security for people is another fundamental need. Crime, and fear of crime, is a terrible problem and for many it places very practical restrictions on the way they live their lives, particularly so for the elderly or vulnerable. This is indefensible in a civilised society and Conservatives want to see strong and effective local policing, answerable to the communities they serve.

These core values, like many others, are ones that Conservatives feel all local councillors must address. However, what Conservatives recognise is that local people know best what the priorities are for their local neighbourhood, what the obstacles to delivering them are and how best to overcome them. Labour believes that national government should dictate and provide.

At the heart of this approach is a core difference in ideology between Labour and the Conservatives. Labour remains wedded to the Douglas Jay maxim that "the gentleman in Whitehall really does know better", whereas Conservatives will stand up for the independence and accountability of local government, and trust people to make their own decisions to best serve the needs and demands of their communities.

Caroline Spelman is Conservative MP for Meriden and shadow secretary of state for local and devolved government affairs