Five embark on LGA adventure
- Published: 28 August 2008 08:01
- Last Updated: 28 August 2008 14:38
Five candidates are battling to succeed Sir Simon Milton as Local Government Association chairman. LGC gives them a platform to make their pitch.
Margaret Eaton
Bradford City MDC
Following in the footsteps of Sir Simon Milton as chairman of the Local Government Association will be a privilege, but a daunting challenge for whoever is selected from such a wide range of candidates.
Since the creation of the LGA, I have been involved at the highest level. During the past six years I have been first, deputy leader, and then leader of the Conservative group and vice-chairman of the LGA.
All of these roles would help me to continue the excellent work of the previous chairmen, and in particular to ensure that central government takes proper notice of the democratic importance of local government.
In the run-up to a general election over the next 18 months it will be vitally important to position the LGA at the heart of political thinking and policy development.
All local authorities are increasingly strapped for cash. The LGA will need to demonstrate its relevance to all types of local authority and also that the subscription is value for money.
Some issues, such as the pressure on budgets and council tax, are universal to all authorities while others, such as the government's ill-considered proposals for eco-towns, affect a relatively small number but are no less important.
The LGA is a cross-party organisation. Most of my political life has been spent in 'hung' councils with highly charged politics. In such circumstances, productive work can take place only if good relationships are maintained in spite of political differences.
If elected, I would bring to the task my years of experience as leader of the Conservative LGA group, chairman of the Conservative Councillors Association, leader of Bradford City MDC and 22 years of being a front-line councillor for Bingley Rural ward. These jobs have developed my skills, inflated my energy, prepared my address book and given me the insights and foresight to understand and tackle the issues confronting local government.
Gordon Keymer
Tandridge DC
As a council leader for 10 years and a former LGA Conservative group leader, my track record demonstrates a very strong candidature for the LGA chairmanship.
One of my key aims is to ensure that LGA members believe they are properly represented and are able to play an active part. This is the way the LGA will flourish and further develop in strength. This is particularly important as the LGA continues with its latest reorganisation and modernisation programme.
The involvement of the LGA includes getting out to members and I would want to build on the work started by Sir Simon Milton in meeting with members of the LGA on their home ground and understanding local issues.
During my chairmanship I would concentrate on bringing the leaders of all types of authorities into the work of the LGA with the aim of strengthening and uniting local government to increase its role and influence.
LGA local authority members need to feel they are properly represented and getting value for money. I have been concentrating on this as a member of the LGA resources panel and would progress this further, informed by member views.
My aim for LGA relations with the government would be to base them on a mutual recognition that local and central government each have crucial roles in working together to bring about improvements nationally and beyond.
My track record shows I can achieve my aims with clear, practical outcomes. As the leader of my council I am working with a strong team dedicated to providing highly cost-effective services.
As the elected head of the UK delegation to the [European Union] Committee of the Regions (CoR) I have succeeded in making major improvements in the way the CoR operates by ensuring all the CoR political parties are on board.
Lee Martin
Sunderland City Council
This is a hugely important election for both the LGA and for the Conservative Party.
The winner will be the national face of local government. And, with the LGA being in the hands of the Conservative Party and so many Conservative-controlled councils, the LGA chairman will be the face of our party in power.
Whoever wins this election will play a critical role in the dying months of a Labour government and in shaping the local and region policy agenda of the incoming Cameron administration.
Throughout the 1990s Sir Jeremy Beecham, as chairman of the LGA, was a vocal opponent of the policies of the then-Conservative government and played an important role in Labour's 1997 election victory.
A decade on, we must ensure that Gordon Brown cannot use the time between now and the general election to further entrench the misguided ideas and policies of this worn-out Labour government. With the likelihood of a Conservative victory looking stronger each day, we on councils must do everything we can to shape local government going forward.
The furore surrounding the recent Policy Exchange report suggesting that we should abandon attempts to regenerate our northern cities shows how much we still have to do.
According to the report, the evidence "suggests there is next to no chance of people in Sunderland having the same opportunities as the people of Birmingham or Portsmouth, let alone the same as those in London or Oxford".
Wouldn't a Sunderland Tory becoming chair of the LGA and then going on to help shape the local and region policy agenda of the next government, so that we can succeed in where successive governments have failed, suggest otherwise?
Keith Mitchell
Oxfordshire CC
There is a view in some quarters that the localism argument has been won. I am afraid I am rather more sceptical.
Although the three main parties mouth phrases about devolving power, I fear the reality may be somewhat different.
The current government is proposing more centralising powers. The government in waiting talks a localist agenda but it is by no means clear that it really sees local government as the solution.
Where does this leave the next chairman of the LGA? With four clear tasks:
Firstly and perhaps most important of all, local government needs to speak with a single, strong and united voice. We are much better at service delivery; much more joined up in how we work and hugely more efficient than much of central government. The LGA chairman must speak for all parties and all types of council to hammer home this message. If elected, I pledge to do that.
Secondly, we have the current government in power for a bit longer. We have to work with them. We have to persuade them we can deliver better outcomes. We have to find compromises. If elected, I pledge to do that.
Thirdly, we have to get closer to the Cameron team. We need to influence the thinking of the next government before it becomes the next government. A Conservative LGA chairman, working with the LGA Conservative group leadership, is well placed to do that. A Conservative LGA chairman, with David Cameron as his near neighbour and good friend, is best placed to do that!
Fourthly, we have to make the case for local government day in and day out through the media. Ipsos MORI remind us that the public value our services but they don't value us. We won't change this overnight, but we can keep making the case for democratically accountable and hugely efficient local government. I am good at this media work and pledge to use my skills to the utmost if I am elected as LGA chairman.
Stephen Parnaby
East Riding of Yorkshire Council
My motivation for accepting a nomination to serve as chairman of the LGA stems from my commitment to providing high-quality services that represent excellent value for money and my genuine desire to raise the public perception of the local government family and thus enhance our reputation.
I believe that I have the credibility to negotiate and speak on behalf of member councils from across the country in order to get the best deal for local government so that we can rise to and exceed the challenges we face.
These challenges include: influencing the white paper on community empowerment; improving performance amid an ever tightening financial climate; tackling the very real issue of climate change and identifying ways to adapt to severe weather conditions, such as those experienced during the floods of summer 2007.
Our other challenges include: the rising cost of elderly care; finding the most effective long-term solution to waste management; retaining the involvement of councillors on police authorities; ensuring that the reforms advocated in the government's sub-national review do not erode democratic accountability; ensuring a healthy debate on unitary status; and getting the best deal for local government within the constraints of EU legislation.
As regards strategic issues, councils cannot work in isolation and need a strong and credible body that understands and promotes the best interests of local government as a whole.
I am a believer that the local government family should work together and that, while there will always be differences of opinion, we need to speak with one voice irrespective of political ideology. This is crucial in maintaining the credible relationship that the LGA has with central government but only possible with a strong credible chairman leading from the front. I have the ability to fulfil this role.
