Local government reform

LBWF councillors: what do they do, and is it value for money? An update.

March 7, 2023 LBWF, Local government reform

In essence, the relationship between residents and councillors is an informal contract. Residents agree to pay councillors from the public purse For their part, councillors, amongst other things, attend (and in some cases chair) council meetings; read and digest the associated minutes and papers; promote the interests of those who live in their wards, or at least make sure they are not left behind; and help any residents in need of assistance. A post published in February 2020 looked at how this arrangement was going, and the following is an update. To start with, what do councillors receive i... »

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LBWF councillors: what do they do, and is it value for money?

February 7, 2020 LBWF, Local government reform

What is it that LBWF councillors do? Are they proficient or laggard? And can it be said, given that they are paid via allowances from the public purse, that residents get value for money? This post looks at some of the evidence dispassionately. It does not pretend to be definitive, for reasons that will become clear, merely an introduction to what hopefully will be a longer debate. It should be said, to start with, that wider discussion about councillors’ performance is currently polarised. Those who are close to the action invariably stress the difficulty of the role, and the hard work that i... »

Local Labour heavyweight Richard Price denounces internal party shenanigans

September 28, 2017 Local government reform, the Labour Party in Waltham Forest

Eagle-eyed politicos have drawn my attention to a speech by local Labour heavyweight, Richard Price, at the party’s recent Brighton conference, which can be viewed here at I hour 51 minutes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IfhTiwB0OQs It’s strong stuff, and Mr. Price is obviously intent on cementing his coveted position as ‘The Most Hated Man In Waltham Forest’ in the ‘By The Local Labour Hierarchy’ division. But, because of his undoubted expertise in such matters, what he says deserves to be taken seriously, and opens a window onto an astonishing range of s... »

Reforming local government (2) an agenda from Tower Hamlets

October 28, 2015 LBWF, Local government reform, Lutfur Rahman, the Labour Party in Waltham Forest, Tower Hamlets

On the subject of local government reform, it is notable that another of our neighbours, Tower Hamlets, also has begun examining the status quo, in this case through the medium of a Transparency Commission, described in an August press release as follows: ‘The council’s Overview and Scrutiny Committee has launched an Overview and Scrutiny Transparency Commission (OSTC) to identify actions the council should take to improve transparency, openness and accountability. The Commission began its work at the July 27 Overview and Scrutiny Committee (OSC) meeting. The OSC meetings in September, O... »

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Reforming local government: (1) an agenda from Newham

October 23, 2015 LBWF, Local government reform, the Labour Party in Waltham Forest

In a recent post on his blog about the downsides of one-party administrations in local government, John Gray, councillor for West Ham ward in Newham, writes as follows: ‘Finally, I think just as important as electoral reform, local government needs structural and legislative reform. Such as making the role of scrutiny committees much more robust and truly independent of the Executive; beefing up Standard Boards; time limits on Council leaders; stopping backbench Councillors being refused information by Chief officers for no substantiated reasons; being open and transparent and stop restricting... »

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