Cllr Charlotte Kenyon represents Pulborough on West Sussex County Council.
One of the things that our new party leader, Kemi Badenoch, talked about at our party conference in Birmingham was “the Blair/Brown legacy”: the constitutional changes they introduced, the increasing reliance on extra-governmental authorities and arms-length bodies and the embedding of New Labour philosophy across government, all of which has never been ‘wound back’.
Over time, it has become increasingly clear how profound and long-lasting these changes have become. In Kemi’s words “the Left never left”. It feels as if it has become increasingly difficult to implement Conservative policies, even when that is what the electorate has voted for. Disappointment and frustration inevitably follow the perceived failure to deliver on expectations and promises made, contributing to the electoral defeat we recently suffered. A correction is required.
In theory, quangos balance the benefits of governmental oversight with the flexibility, independence and expertise of private sector organisations. In practice, it leads to the transfer of decision-making authority away from elected representatives. It might appear superficially appealing to distance the delivery of public services from politics but in reality, this weakens accountability: who does the electorate turn to if they’re unhappy? Who’s responsible?
This issue of accountability is as relevant to local government as it is to central government. If residents are unhappy with local service delivery it is to their elected members that they turn, in the hope and expectation that something will be done. They assume that elected members are in control and will hold us responsible if they are dissatisfied. We carry the can when things don’t work but there’s a limit to what we can do.
In theory, elected members are responsible for deciding policies and priorities, setting budgets and scrutinising the work of the authority; officers are responsible for implementing the decisions, policies and plans set by members. Officers should be politically neutral; members should not attempt to manage or control operational matters.
So far, so simple. But who decides what is an ‘operational matter’? What if a member wishes to challenge operational decision-making and outcomes on behalf of residents? Sometimes the ‘how’ is as important as the ‘what’ in determining outcomes and the member may feel it is necessary to challenge the basis on which a decision has been made, only to be told it is an ‘operational matter’. Formal scrutiny doesn’t really address this. There seems little recourse if a member doesn’t feel their questions have been answered adequately.
Who decides what is ‘politically neutral’? What if members and officers disagree about what is and isn’t ‘political’?
Recent examples include:
Equalities legislation and guidance is complex and evolving and authorities should ensure their policies reflect them accurately to mitigate against the potential legal, financial and reputational risk of getting it wrong. They should develop their own understanding of the law and associated guidance and be wary of taking on trust the advice of self-appointed experts who may not be as impartial as they claim to be or uncritically copying what another organisation is doing, as if this provides an automatic seal of quality. Just because another authority is doing something, doesn’t necessarily make it right. Common practice may not be best practice. There is no substitute for independent, critical thinking and Councillors should be ready to challenge ‘groupthink’.
Through this period of opposition, the Conservative Party will need to articulate clearly what it stands for and what it seeks to offer the electorate. Hopefully, this will include proposals to regear the workings of government to return greater authority (not just accountability) to elected representatives.
In the meantime, Conservative local authorities have an important role to play in demonstrating to the electorate what that means in practice by:
One of the reasons so many of our core/’natural’ supporters abandoned us at the last General Election is because, in the words of so many, they didn’t know what the Conservatives stood for anymore. As the party develops its renewed offer to the public, we should use the platform we have in local government to make our mission crystal clear and show leadership on the issues that matter to the people we represent.