Transparency is one area where the Tories are committed to being truly radical. The changes they are already committed to ushering in—publishing government expenditure and contracts online—will create far greater scrutiny of government. In time, this will lead to money being saved. and are unlikely to ever be reversed. Their announcement today on local government is equally radical. All external expenditure over £500 would have to be published as would contracts and tender documents.
Some people, possibly including Alex, will complain that this contradicts the party’s commitment to localism; that it should be up to local councils to decide what they publish. But I think central government has a legitimate role to play in setting out the parameters within which local government operates.
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