Despite still being referred to by many of my Blackpool comrades as a ‘lad’, I have been a councillor for nine years now, and am rapidly approaching 40 – long enough to remember when Labour was last in control of the LGA.
Day one of the 2012 LGA conference sees a bigger and more cheerful Labour group meeting than we’ve seen for a while, with Dave Sparks re-elected as a vice-chair of the association – and a palpable sense of anticipation that if we do the job in May 2013, next time round he will take the chair.
None of this progress has happened, or will happen, by simply waiting for the government to dig its own grave (although it helps). Where we have enjoyed most success, it has been based around local action and positive agendas. Carping about cuts won’t cut the 2013 mustard (any more than it will nationally in 2015) – we need to demonstrate to the electorate that Labour can be trusted with economic decisions whatever the prevailing climate.
Models of cooperative delivery, prudential and socially responsible use of the private sector, and a genuine engagement with communities and the third sector has allowed Labour administrations up and down the UK to mitigate against the worst ravages of coalition politics, and protect services that our residents value.
This approach is neither old Labour, New Labour or Blue Labour, it is Local Labour. We need to find diffuse yet pragmatic solutions to the next series of hurdles (changes to housing benefits, business rate localisation, council tax benefit cuts and the emerging crises around adult social care – of which I don’t doubt there will be much, much more as the week progresses). The electorate will deliver the LGA back into Labour hands if we do this. It won’t if we don’t.
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Simon Blackburn is leader of Blackpool council. He tweets @CllrSBlackburn
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But we do need to be bolder & clearer about the cuts being forced on us by the government nationally. We rightly work so hard to ameliorate the cuts and protect our communities that we forget to keep repeating why this is happening – it’s the government chosing to do this through slashing our budgets. The Lambeth posters repeating “The government has cut our money by nearly a third so we are forced to cut services” should be displayed up and down the country.
Hi Sioned – I am a big fan of the Lambeth poster campaign, but am an even bigger fan of how their Labour Council is delivering top flight results (outstanding in their recent OFSTED), despite those cuts. I guess it is a call for balance.