Local Government

In December 2004 LCER’s Chair, Anne Campbell MP, sent a letter to all Labour MPs about the campaign to make local votes count, along with a copy of Make Votes Count’s Missing Modernisation pamphlet. She also wrote to Tony Blair emphasising the fact that the longer Labour stays in Government, the more Labour councils and councillors are lost, as happened to the Conservatives in the 1990s, with devastating results on local decisions and morale in the party, eventually leading to losing MPs. David Griffin and Ken Ritchie (ERS) and Steve Roberts (LCER) held a meeting with Sir Jeremy Beecham at the Local Government Association to discuss the whole question of PR for local government.

The question arises whether, after the referendum defeat in the North East, which if passed would have set up a regional assembly elected by Additional Member System, a Labour Government might move to create unitary councils in the three northern regions where the boundary work has been completed for the referendum. Should unitary authorities be argued for, there would be an opportunity to bolt in arguments for PR for these new authorities. Newham Council has plans to give opposition parties a chance in their borough by requesting a local PR initiative and if the third term brings more local losses for Labour there may be an opportunity to argue principle and pragmatism. PR for local government is not a simple proposition, as the vested interests are more numerous, but there may come a time when local reform in England and Wales, as well as Scotland, looks a real possibility.

The Missing Modernisation: the case for PR in Local Government is available from Make Votes Count, 6 Chancel Street, London SE1 0UU - priced £5.