Cross-party criticism of Milton clouds conference

Sir Simon Milton addresses conference delegates on Tuesday (photo: LGA/Duncan Robertson)

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A row between Local Government Association chairman Sir Simon Milton and his Labour and Lib Dem colleagues threatened to overshadow the association's annual conference.

Sir Simon (Con) received a grilling from the floor after stating last week that schools should be run by private firms for a profit and that councils' role should be solely that of service commissioners.

Manchester City councillor and LGA Liberal Democrat group whip John Commons called on Sir Simon to clarify "where the views of Sir Simon finish and where the views of the chair of the LGA begin".

Steve Houghton (Lab), leader of Barnsley MBC, said: "A number of us believe that local government's role is much more fundamental… than meeting once a year to sign the contracts."

Sir Jeremy Beecham and Richard Kemp, leaders of the LGA's Labour and Liberal Democrat groups respectively, issued a joint statement on Friday criticising Sir Simon's comments.

"Simon Milton is entitled to his personal views… but he has no authority to advance them on behalf of the LGA, especially when his views on this matter do not reflect LGA policy," it read.

"In controversial matters of this kind we would expect the LGA chairman to consult other political leaders in the association and, in the absence of agreement, to make it clear that he speaks in a personal capacity only." 

Sir Jeremy even suggested Sir Simon may have been advancing policies that could be adopted by the Tories.

"Some people do think that certain Tory frontbenchers are getting a flag flown on their behalf," he said. "It isn't Tory policy now, but perhaps it might be in a couple of years." Addressing the conference, Sir Simon defended himself, claiming his comments had been confused with those made in a personal capacity and those made as LGA chairman.

An LGA spokesman earlier said Sir Simon had not been misquoted in the newspaper interview.

Sir Simon claimed: "I'm not going to complain about journalists, but I did say at various points that 'these are my personal views and I know they are not the views of local councils or the LGA'. Unfortunately that didn't come out in the final copy."

He added his comments about privatisation related solely to academies.

He also used his speech to call for wage restraint for top officers following the tough grant settlement. "Sometimes we are criticised for the salary levels we pay to our most senior people," he said.

"We must always ensure that our reward levels are fair, transparent and stand comparison with other parts of the public sector. So all councils have to be prepared to justify their remuneration policies."

The conference also saw the election of Buckinghamshire CC leader David Shakespeare as Margaret Eaton's successor as LGA Conservative group leader. Leicestershire CC leader David Parsons was elected his deputy.