Conservative councils must find their chainsaws or face defeat

The paradox of the local elections was that we saw a victory for Conservatism but a defeat for the Conservative Party. Yes, I know Reform UK has taken some disturbing stances on issues ranging from steel nationalisation to Ukraine. But its message for the local elections was distinctively Conservative.

Nigel Farage would repeat the mantra at rally after rally. The figures would be adapted from one county to another, but the argument was consistent. Council Tax is too high because of wasteful spending. We need to cut down bureaucracy and all the woke nonsense, such as climate change spending and diversity officers. Debt interest has become a huge spending item. A tighter grip is needed on the sums spent on agency workers, training conferences, and consultants. Key services need not be cut but can be improved through greater efficiency, for example, by making use of a JCB Pothole Pro to fill potholes faster and more effectively at a lower cost.

So he is singing our tunes. But the Conservative Party’s response was derision. An insistence that there is no waste to cut, as everything had already been “cut to the bone.” That the novices, malcontents, and oddballs from Reform UK arriving in the town halls will flounder hopelessly. The voters, in large numbers, responded that they will give Reform UK a chance. Perhaps they had anecdotal evidence that a lot of money really is still being wasted. While I would characterise the call for lower Council Tax as a Conservative message, it has broad appeal, especially for poorer households for whom the Council Tax burden is greatest. Lots of former Labour voters would like lower Council Tax. It is why the analysis of “shifting to the right” or “winning on the centre ground” is divorced from the real world.

A rather straightforward conclusion follows. For Conservative councils to be returned, they need to be true to themselves – to follow Conservative policies rather than socialist policies. Sitting back and waiting for Reform UK to fail is deficient. First of all, what if they succeed? Regardless of that, the Conservative Party should seek to be more effective at applying Conservative principles than any other political party. It is hardly an unreasonable aspiration. How can it be achieved? Reform UK’s call to “send in the auditors” worked well enough in the campaign but is really a cop out. There’s probably not much corruption to find – we are among the least corrupt nations in the world. Savings involve making decisions. Ditching the diversity officers is fine, but there are probably only one or two; go to the Communications Department, and astonishingly, you could well find ten or 20.

To reduce the budget for next year, start with an immediate recruitment freeze. Any exceptions must be approved by a panel – including the Council leader – with a warning that a pretty good case will need to be made.

Begin the budget setting for next year early, in the summer. The Council leader must take charge and have a series of meetings with the Cabinet Member and the Director of each Department – going through each section challenging whether value for money is being achieved. Would you spend it this way if it were your own money, your own business? So many reductions can be accomplished by applying that approach honestly and rigorously. Do we need to send £100,000 a year as a membership sub to the Local Government Association? Does each Council committee really need its own full time administrator to “co-ordinate” half a dozen meetings a year?

Ideology is not enough. Success is as much about personality. Listening to objections but being determined to achieve the end goal. Showing flexibility by considering alternative options – provided the required savings are achieved one way or another.

Areas to consider include the number of children in children’s homes – often in mainstream schooling, who could be better placed in foster care or adoption at a far lower cost. Not to mention better protection from the rape gangs.

For other children – often those diagnosed with special educational needs – there is an arrangement of spending hours in a taxi each day to attend a remote school. It may be a statutory entitlement but it is in nobody’s interests and alternative arrangements should be negotiated that are better for the child as well as the Council Taxpayer.

Public Health budgets typically go on nannying campaigning and compiling long reports. If that spending is redirected into practical benefits – such as specialist hostels for vulnerable homeless groups or preventative work to ease pressure on adult social care – this would allow savings on other Council budgets without breaking the “ring fenced” rules.

Surplus municipal land and buildings should be sold with permission for attractive housing. That would reduce Council debt and thus the interest bill, as well as providing new homes.

There are plenty of other examples. What it really comes down to is an attitude of mind. The rewards could be considerable. Just over half of Council budgets come from central Government grants. Only around a third from Council Tax. So each one per cent spending cut allows a three per cent Council Tax cut. Get out the chainsaw.

The rest of a Council’s coffers are filled from Business Rates – which could be cut too. Supposing pubs were given a complete exemption. A local authority might have a couple of hundred of them paying £10,000 each. So an exemption would cost £2 million. If the Council has a total budget of £500 million that should be achievable. The pubs would stop closing and start reopening – a great boost to the community. What chance would Reform UK have of gaining control of a Council from the Conservatives, where that had been introduced?

It’s not just about money, of course. There is the broader theme of civic pride. Councils are failing to evict tenants involved in anti-social behaviour. What about design codes to ensure beautiful development, allowing more such development to proceed?

Lots of small changes make a cumulative difference to the feel of a place. Redundant phone boxes should be removed. Ugly modernist lamp posts should be gradually replaced by the traditional lantern design.

Sometimes spending modest extra sums is justified. Removing all graffiti for free would not cost much.

We have the high streets with so many empty shops which could often be made into homes.

All the Council regulations should be looked at. The war on landlords is very damaging – often going above and beyond what is mandated by central Government. Ditto the war on motorists. Not just in terms of parking, cycle lanes, and the 20 mph speed limits. Bus lanes? Afuera! Traffic lights? Afuera! Speed humps? Afuera!

Why is vaping banned in Council offices and other Council building such as libraries? Don’t they want to make it easier to give up smoking? Don’t they want to increase productivity?

A broad agenda in some ways, yet the key is that they are Conservative policies. Why don’t Conservative councils give them a try? More effective than sneering at Reform UK, blaming the Labour Government for not handing out enough money, or whining about Kemi Badenoch and CCHQ not giving enough campaigning assistance. We might even find that with Conservative policies, Conservatives can win. We  are at our best when at our boldest.