Publications 2003-2006

The local government system in shire counties is under pressure. Although the recent Local Government White Paper struck a cautious note, it is clear that councils are expected to change, while tight budgets increase the needs to find more efficient solutions.

The current system is confusing to voters and promotes conflict between different tiers of government. Yet conventional 'unitary' solutions are unattractive, reducing democratic representation and making local government more remote. Tim Palmer and Glyn Gaskarth argue that there is a better way: an innovative model of 'federal' county government, which streamlines bureaucracy and presents a unified public face, while power originates at a very local level and is delegated up where necessary.
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Paying for Local Investment is a supplement to Nothing to lose but your chains, and focuses on the reform of the much-overlooked local capital finance system.
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Unaffordable Housing: Fables and Myths is the first of a three-part series of pamphlets investigating the causes of, and solutions to, Britain's housing shortage.
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This is followed by Bigger Better Faster More, which shows that in countries where local councils have to "compete for every inhabitant" they successfully plan for better and cheaper homes in sustainable, green communities.
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The series is completed by Better Homes, Greener Cities, which shows that too few houses are built in Britain because local communities have no incentives to support new development. A poll conducted for the report by Populus reveals that, despite rising incomes, 75% of respondents believe that a family home with a garden is less affordable than twenty years ago. Respondents overwhelmingly feel that planning should be controlled locally.
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This report argues that the Government's White Paper on education will do little to help the most disadvantaged pupils. More Good School Places calls for all children at failed state schools to receive up to £6,000 additional funding per annum - the Advantage Premium - to help them access better education. Other recommendations include the abolition of Local Education Authorities and School Organisation Committees and the creation of Pupil Advocates, directly elected local posts responsible for dismissing management of failed schools and helping children at failed schools find better alternatives.
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Nothing to lose but your chains is a report on de-coupling local authorities from the leaden financial control of the centre and becoming more buoyant and competitive. Securing this greater autonomy would be the first step towards more locally-responsive government.
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In his new book, Big Bang Localism: a Rescue Plan for British Democracy, Simon Jenkins proposes a radical decentralisation of government. With John Prescott's European-inspired regionalism in tatters, Jenkins calls for a re-empowerment of the counties and cities to which people feel loyalty, with many services delegated further to municipalities and parishes. The current government talk the language of localism, but for England have continued to centralise. Giving people control over services would drive standards up, restoring faith in British democracy.
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In the first part of this major study into local government financial reform, Professor Tony Travers of the LSE and Lorena Esposito of Policy Exchange examine the history of local government funding in England and Wales, from feudalism through the Victorian period to today. The authors show how the current system of highly centralised control is a product of the government's desire to maintain uniformity and fiscal discipline.In the second volume of their study, Professor Travers and Lorena Esposito review the current system of local government finance, setting out its shortcomings, and conclude that even the most basic requirements of a good local finance system are not being met. The final part of the report focuses on the much overlooked capital finance system.
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