Coronavirus diary, Thursday 7 May

Local government

Britain will never be the same again. We will never return to  normal life, ended abruptly by the pandemic three months ago. Change is inevitable. 

In the past, wars and disasters led us to believe lessons would be learned, hopes raised, only for them to be dashed, promises forgotten. This time the road ahead will be more tortuous. Our government has more power than ever, with the Prime Minister a reluctant dictator. Necessary and acceptable in these extreme circumstances but not to be tolerated for long.Where do we go from here? Will lessons be learned? 

The answer, I believe, is for less control by central government and a wider distribution of power and responsibilities. Delays, mistakes and uncertainty have highlighted the shortcomings and dangers of bureaucracy which we have come to accept, but it goes beyond that. The inequality of life in different parts of Britain, the affluence of the south and the poverty of the north, for example. 
Hopes and promises cannot be fulfilled if we continue on the same path. 

City Hall, Cardiff: local government the key

The key is to return power and responsibility to the people through local government, our town halls. For decades, successive governments have been systematically dismantling our councils,  starving them of funds, diminishing their responsibilities. Proud cities like Liverpool and Birmingham, by innovation and boldness, made us one of the most advanced nations, creating great wealth for the country.  This has been stifled, councils made almost irrelevant. 

'The Welsh Swindon': Caerphilly loco works, 1963

For nearly 50 years as reporter and officer I have recognised the importance of local government. Caerphilly, for example, led the country in the early 1960s with bold projects - first housing association, first supermarket in Wales and buying the massive Caerphilly locomotive works to create an industrial estate. And spending more of the permitted sixpenny rate on arts and entertainment than any other council. I admire Japan and Germany for their local government. Their governor and oberbürgermeister were in charge for many years, giving strong leadership, re-elected time after time. 

In Britain, councils, whatever their size, know their communities and can serve them well.  They should be in the forefront of the desperately needed reorganisation of  our fragmented and patently inefficient social care service. Local government is the way forward.