As we gear up for the local government conference in Nottingham, #LocalLab13, there couldn’t be a better time to be guest editing ProgressOnline. The wheels are beginning to come off the Tory bandwagon as the public rumble how unfairly the cuts are distributed. The poorest councils are suffering the deepest cuts; the average council cut is £62 per person, Liverpool has lost £252. The poorest households will suffer the bedroom tax and council tax benefit cuts (aka the Pickles poll tax) just as millionaires receive a tax cut of £40,000 this April.

However, the 1980s showed Labour will still lose elections unless we prove we can deliver better services with reduced cash. This edition showcases many great new ideas, and my colleagues Steve Munby and Ann O’Byrne tell how in Liverpool we have harnessed the power of joint working and community engagement to increase services at no cost to the council.

This week Progressonline has had Jim McMahon outline how local government can do its bit to get growth in their local economies. This weekend we hear examples from Southwark, Newcastle and Leeds about how they are doing the same. We also have two Progress magazine pieces for you on the forthcoming county elections and how Operation Red Rose is the north west’s latest fight back against this terrible Tory government.

While we may not be able to expect Hilary Benn MP in green tights, the city of Robin Hood is the perfect place to promote and exchange Labour’s progressive ideas being delivered in local government. Labour in power locally, forms an essential part of showing the public we can be trusted to govern nationally again.

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Councillor Paul Brant is the deputy mayor of Liverpool and an elected member of the Progress strategy board. Today he guest edits ProgressOnline ahead of Labour’s local government conference this weekend. See all the relevant pieces here

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