In amongst international conflicts, a royal baby and the prospect of the end of the Union, the Liberal Democrats have today published their pre-manifesto document, a publication that will form the basis of our Party’s manifesto and our offer to the electorate next May.
If you take a look at the document here together with the Protecting Public Services and Making them Work for You here you can see the details of the policies that may not make the headlines but that we very much care about.
The LGA Liberal Democrat Group and ALDC have put a great deal of time and effort into ensuring that our general election platform is one that appeals to voters but also motivates our councillors and activists to get out there and deliver the message like never before.
It is therefore really good to see that, on a number of issues, those in charge of the manifesto process have listened in part to the voice of the party’s grassroots. The document contains proposals to
- replace police commissioners with police boards made up of councillors
- free up council investment in housing
- guarantee a local democratic role in the accountability of all schools
- end local one-party states with STV for all local elections
- remove the requirement to have a referendum before setting the level of council tax
- offer devolution on demand so that local areas can apply for the powers they want at the time they are ready.
One policy that I expect will go down especially well with our membership will be a covenant to prevent the interference in local government by DCLG and specifically, the Secretary of State. Pensions, bins, parking and planning are just a few of the functions of local government that the Secretary of State has turned to on a Friday afternoon to see how he can meddle – and grab headlines in the Sunday papers. I’m sure formal protection of local democracy from the personal whims of one person will be welcomed among our ranks.
Something to give us pause for thought is the extension of ringfencing for both education and the NHS. This coupled with the ambitious but necessary targets to eliminate the deficit leave the other departments (including DCLG) exposed. The answers are of course more freedoms for local communities to raise money locally and for more integration of service delivery and funding at a local level. There is mention of both of these in the two documents but more detail will be welcome as we develop these proposals.
There is much work left to do on this and on the other policy areas but I really am hopeful that these documents will form the basis of a manifesto that all Liberal Democrats can get behind as we hurtle towards perhaps the most significant round of parliamentary and local elections in our Party’s history.
Cllr Chris White is a District and County Councillor for St Albans, member of ALDC’s Management Committee, and Deputy Leader of the LGA Liberal Democrat Group.
says
I agree with what I read. But don't even think about ending the senior bus pass.
Alastair Ross says
Thanks Chris. I had hoped to see more proposals on housing. This is a big issue across the country and needs firm action. Of course it is also thorny but when were we ever shy of grasping prickly problems. Government can leave the easy ones to others - it's the hard ones we need to tackle.
Without delving into too much detail I think there is merit in listening to what is being said by the Henry George Foundation and others with particular reference to a land value tax. We cannot afford to have existing householders in negative equity but I believe there are models that might open up the housing supply and put more money into local authorities to do more in terms of social / rented housing.
I hope we might see something quite radical in this area of policy - something eye-catching, that delivers on both economic success and fairness at the same time.