This chart, pinched from Burning Our Money, shows how much work needs to be done if the Conservatives’ talk of handing power back to local communities is actually likely to amount to anything. As you can see, local government raises more of its own money in almost every other leading country. Only Ireland, Greece and, to my surprise, the Netherlands are more dependent upon central government.(Meanwhile, over on the good side of the chart are our friends in Australia and, especially, New Zealand.)
Real Localism – and all the good things that are supposed to flow from it – demands a measure of fiscal responsibility. Without that accountability the rest is largely window-dressing. Pretty window-dressing but window-dressing nonetheless.
Perhaps there are other means of addressing this issue but power isn’t really power unless it comes with revenue responsibilities as well as spending privileges.
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