Tom Gordon comments following release of Government white paper on local government in England

Tom Gordon has spoken out following the release of a new paper from the Government, that promises new devolution, and further reorganisation of local government in England. 

The announcement focussed on giving mayors to all or the vast majority of England, with new powers given to them from Westminster, but also decreasing the powers of local authorities over some areas such as planning, to give those powers to mayors. 

The proposals also advocated for merging district and county councils into unitary councils like North Yorkshire, with 500,000+ people in each area, and merging smaller existing unitaries. 

Commenting, Tom said: 

“This is devolution only in name. Yes, less power will be in Westminster, but the vast majority of power in any particular area will now be in the hands of a single person. With larger unitary authorities, people will also have less connection to their local councils. We’ve already seen in North Yorkshire that people feel the new authority is far removed from them. 

“Whilst I welcome less centralisation into Westminster, that power should be spread out further. Local people should be making decisions. We already have less tiers of power than most countries in Europe. There is little reason to reduce yet further, which only removes local people further from their representatives. 

“The new unitary council in North Yorkshire has solved nothing. North Yorkshire Council adopted the lowest common denominator in so many areas, as has become clear in my time as an MP. Likewise, the mayor seems to care little for our area. He has refused to back me in my campaign to secure the vital Harrogate College funding, for example.”

ENDS