No doubt, some of this feeling is the perpetual sense that things were always better in the past. But not all can be dismissed in this way. 

The government talks only about the deficit, as if the deficit is somehow distinct from the ‘lived-in’ economy that we experience every day whenever we get paid or spend any money. Sometimes we are guilty of the same mistake. We forget that the economy isn’t simply a profit-and-loss account: it is a barometer by which everyone measures their lives.

A healthy economy means that people are living easier, happier lives. High inflation, low growth and high unemployment don’t just affect the deficit, as George Osborne would have you believe. They account for the startling finding that over half of Britons would find it very difficult at the moment to afford to replace a washing machine or cooker if it broke down. And I thought that was just me! People are finding life tough, and the ‘lived-in’ economy is – unsurprisingly – colouring the way that we think about every political issue. No wonder we are feeling pessimistic.

This everyday experience is, however, not the experience of government ministers (nor of many of the people who voted for them). Lord Ashcroft’s own polling suggests that ministers are not considered to be ‘like us’, and that most people do not believe that ministers understand their daily lives. This is where Labour councils should step in.

The localism bill isn’t all good news for councils – as many have pointed out, it could be renamed the ‘centralism bill’. However, one section which has not been greatly discussed, but which could be extremely positive, is the granting to councils of a general power of competence. Put simply, at the moment councils can do only those things that they have been expressly allowed to do. The power will turn that on its head – councils will be able to do anything that isn’t expressly banned. 

Labour councillors should already be thinking about how we can use this new power to attack the issues which are causing people to be so fearful for the future. Would it be helpful for larger councils to run their own building societies, lending local funds to local businesses which employ local people? Are there new ways in which councils can help families to rent houses which are not so dilapidated that they crush human dignity? If a family with young children cannot afford a new washing machine, what can we do to help them?

The power of competence allows us to help in ways that are not open to us at the moment. They allow us to be bold and imaginative – if an idea might help, then we can do it. But we will have to be less conservative and less scared of failure than we are at the moment. The more innovative we are, the more likely we are to help our residents through these tough times, but the greater the possibility that our efforts might not wholly hit the spot.

Having the power to help, but not using it, would be an enormous betrayal of the people who need our help the most. We know that people are finding it hard to get by from day to day and the government that we dislike has given us a power to help those people. We mustn’t let the source of that power blind us to its potential for good.

As Caroline Flint noted at the weekend, Tory councils are viewed as being good value and efficient. We should strive for good value and efficiency – profligacy isn’t progressive. But we need something more than that; the family that cannot afford a washing machine won’t be satisfied by knowing that their council tax is low. We have to offer something more than the shrivelled Tory offer. The imperfect localism bill gives us the chance to show that if you want an innovative, imaginative, enabling council, then you will vote Labour. Let’s take up that chance and do our bit to turn back the tide of pessimism.

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