I decided against writing any sort of local government-based blog for the last month or so. Such were the comedic offerings offered by Westminster I didn’t think it possible to entertain any fuller.
Except it not funny, is it? There are serious questions about this country’s future democracy when a party can name 3 Prime ministers in 5 years without going to the public for their vote.
And then , just when you think there might be a period of calm the home secretary who was sacked as the Home Secretary a fortnight ago makes some seriously divisive comment and its all up in the air again. If a Council was run this way , well there would soon be many a complaint no doubt
And that’s the whole point really so this blog is all rather serious as its time to get serious.
Councils like ours in the Forest of Dean must be completely transparent , must follow so many rules that it would never get away with what a higher authority such as The Government or the County Council gets away with , there would be an outcry and rightly so.
Imagine if I as Leader of the council had held staff parties during lock down or if we were responsible for a service that was about to be slashed by the contracted provider and we didn’t tell anyone. In the same way that GCC didn’t inform any one about Stagecoach and their dropping of so many rural bus routes. Perhaps they were busy , perhaps its contempt.
Again, there would be outcry and rightly so but that’s what GCC did . If I stand down as leader or am removed my group can’t just promote another leader from within, no , it goes to the vote of all councillors and right too !! Stagecoach of course also must share the responsibility for the cuts, there is a common opinion that they know what they are doing when they take over the routes, when they send the old busses here and when they suddenly have an unreliable and not fit for purpose service. That’s what people think even if it isn’t true.
The Government are talking to County Council about possible investment zones, and they put two forward in Stroud and Cheltenham, but they did so without discussing it with those councils apparently despite them needing those district and borough councils to promote and support those bids. Those two councils look at it , weigh up the pros and cons and say a hearty no thank you. We in the Forest were not asked or consulted for the record.
There’s a place for a vision an ambition and there’s certainly a place for devolution. There’s not a place for the larger authority thinking it can walk all over those below it
We have seen this before in Gloucestershire, driving proposals through with little or no regard for the wishes or plans of either the community or the lower tiers of local government. Their way or the highway, but unfortunately as the Fusion bid proved, Gloucestershire’s habit of putting all our eggs in one basket ,doing the big-ticket things, the easy options will come back to bite us all too often.
Now it seems the successful GFIRST LEP is to be engulfed by Glos County Council . An organisation designed to give a business slant to funding projects to deliver growth in the county , will be managed by a County Council whose strategies will be politically defined. In a diverse County where The County council might be led by one political persuasion oversees the organisation charged with sending monies to the district councils who may well be run by opposing political parties.
The conflict is clear , its already happened many would argue and simply put the LEPS are on their way out . This is not a sustainable set up. Which brings me on to this.
Yes, there’s a place for devolution, but it must never be about the County Council gorging on all the other districts. Oh no !
In my humble opinion Gloucestershire needs to be set up as a combined authority ,sharing service provision but made up of all the individual districts, on a panel with an elected mayor who should be an Independent and yes probably should be me but Ill blush.
That way, we keep that independence of our districts, we have clear leadership and can form agreed strategies to bring in government funding. Oh, and we rid ourselves of a county council who systematically fails its communities in my view and a massive cost. As you might see I’ve never been enamoured with the idea of a County Council and have seen it as an unnecessary level of government. District and boroughs know their communities, they know which roads need fixing , know how to look after the elderly and what their schools need.
Gloucestershire Combined Authority with an executive made up of the Leaders of Stroud Dc, Cotswolds Dc, Cheltenham BC, Tewkesbury BC, Gloucester City Council and The Forest of Dean District Council alongside a Gloucestershire Mayor.
We would achieve loads and save millions. I’m convinced are you yet?
I’m sure it would be right for our Forest of Dean, continually left out, continually ignored. Ive now said quite publicly and Ill repeat that the Forest of Dean is just as worthy of investment and effort as Cyber Central or the M4 corridor. Perhaps under the system I am proposing we would get some help in our massive transport issues at either end of the district, where no agreement is ever reached because both sides of the border would prefer for us to stagnate and choke while they have a game of measuring political penises . I know other districts feel the same.
I think I've made the point I wanted to.
Local politics, funded properly without political bull shit and ideology , that's the recipe for success
Which brings me to another thing.
I don’t like liars; I don’t like bullies and my Dad told me that you should always stand up to a bully.
The behaviour of certain parties on council of late has been shameful, they bullshit,take things out of context, they mis represent act like they’ve already won the election.
We had some dignitaries in the chamber yesterday and one of them said to me that we have achieved so much , we can’t just let those lunatics destroy it all.
I’ve been contacted by so many businesses and organisations telling me not to stand down, not to let them have a free run. Members of the public have asked me to reconsider, mind some have told me to bugger off.
The Council is in the best place its ever been they say.
They may be right.
So in short ,
A general election
A combined Gloucestershire Authority made up of the district councils
And
A possible campaign to arrange
We will see.
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