John Dickie: We need really local government

It has been a shy retiring body – one whose important members (ie councillors) meet in public yet appear not to tell the public.

Its achievements? An interesting question but all is about to change.

The councils that are members are about to tell all its elected members – well at least those in North Northants – about the joyous future of this mystical outfit.

It would appear as a result of the new government’s policy of devolution to take power over planning, infrastructure, economic development and stuff like that and pass it on to, well, not local communities that’s for sure, but to another level – what appears to be the county council as was – but bigger and more prestigious.

Forget the old failed NCC and welcome the NCC plus Bedford and Milton Keynes.

Be still my beating heart.

Like rats joining a sinking ship we have devolution that appears to offer just another sinking ship – but a bigger one.

The theory appears to be that SEMLEP, a sort of business consortium for the South Midlands, will be the model for a newish structure that will develop growth opportunities in a rather managerial structure.

However if the belief is that this is some form of devolution then it would appear to start and end from the wrong place.

Devolution should be empowering communities from the base upwards. For instance for centuries that base was local communities – what used to be called towns. Northampton is a case in point, until the early 1970s it was a county borough, with all the functions of local government (please note the operative word being local). It’s perhaps significant that most people in town when talking about ‘the council’ think of the body that runs the town – with a central building called ‘the Guildhall’. An identifiable entity.

In the 1970s such a simple idea was frowned upon and functions of the town were encompassed in an enhanced organisation known with little affection as the county council.

Perhaps if that reorganisation had been undertaken with some thought then many of the problems could have been overcome, but back then it seemed bright and shiny and the fact that residents had to trail round from authority to authority seemed a minor inconvenience.

However, things got worse, the county council screwed up badly. A Tory administration that liked to boast that it had the lowest rates in the country, if not in the universe, built a grandiose new headquarters, and went bankrupt.

Once again some clever consultants came up with an ingenious solution. They drew a line on a map and voila – North and West Northants were created! (And we all know how loved West Northampton is with the populace).

So once again a phoenix is threatening to arise.

If this clever wheeze has wings you can bet that some smart arsed consultant will suggest the creation of a South Midlands directly elected mayor.

It all could have been so different. Many years ago the late Sir Bill Morton and I agreed that the best solution to Northampton’s vexatious problems would be two unitaries – one called Northampton Town and the other called Northants. One a large urban centre, the other a sprawling rural county with numerous small towns and villages.

However, politics got in the way. That’s why central government will welcome another elected mayor to devolve even more power to one person and further away from people who need local government that is really local.