Letters to the Editor | 29 October 2005

Power to the locals

Leo McKinstry takes a dim view of the new localism (‘Local schmocal’, 22 October), but most of the new intake of Conservative MPs have signed up to the localists’ ‘Direct Democracy’ charter. We have done so because we believe Britain’s centre-right needs a strategic rethink. Why? First, because we recognise the government has failed to improve public services because it has tried to micro-manage them from Whitehall. Second, because we realise that no matter who wins elections, power will still reside with unelected and unaccountable quangos, judges and Eurocrats.

Only by making the public services downwardly accountable to the people they are meant to serve, as opposed to upwardly accountable to remote elites, will we live in a Britain where the police go after criminals, the health service treats patients properly and schools educate children.

Mr McKinstry is quite correct to identify just how difficult it will be to achieve localism.