This week has seen the arrival of a new prime minister, the fifth in as many years. What will Prime Minister Burnham do to help Wokingham Borough and the council that serves it?
It is, of course, far too early to tell. For all the promise of renewal and change, the incoming prime minister has some unenviable challenges to face.
Public finances remain in a shaky state, with an eye-watering level of debt. Consistent and sustained growth, which might increase the tax take without increasing tax levels, is proving elusive. The National Health Service is struggling with the pressures of structural change and faces a relentless increase in demand as our population ages.
The international situation remains volatile, with many of the certainties of the past now far from certain, especially the reliability of the United States as an ally. All these considerations suggest that the new prime minister will, like his predecessor, prioritize stabilizing national finances, promoting sustainable growth in the economy, investing in the NHS, and increasing defence spending.
Even so, Andy Burham’s path to number ten offers some grounds for hope for local government and our area particularly. He has spoken of Britain’s problem as being a bloated central state and an impoverished local state. If this is more than mere rhetoric, designed to smooth his way to the premiership, it provides an opening to reconsider the debilitating cut in central government support that Wokingham faces this year and for the two years following it.
To remind you – the government’s three-year local government finance settlement has the net effect of reducing the borough council’s government support for service delivery by more than £43 million between now and 2029. Nearly all the council tax increases of this year and the next two will be required to plug the gap left by the cut in central government support, leaving nowhere near enough to cover inflation, never mind increasing demand for our services.
Mr Burnham has also signalled a commitment to regional government, based no doubt on his experience as a successful mayor of Manchester. We will again be seeking to get his support to turn this commitment into practice and restart discussions about a mayoral strategic authority for the Thames Valley. We believe such a strategic authority is vital to lever in extra funding – public and private – and ensure that our region’s (and council’s) voice is heard.
A third hopeful sign is Mr Burnham’s enthusiasm for council-house building. In Wokingham Borough, we need more council houses to enable those priced out of the housing market to have a home of their own. We have a particular problem due to the high cost of purchase and renting in the local market. The barrier to a significant growth in council housing has always been lack of money. If the government is serious about promoting council-house building, we hope it will provide us, and councils like us, with the funding to make this possible.
I am heartened by the new prime minister’s enthusiasm for partnership – he wants to see councils, mayors, and ministers working collaboratively with business, the voluntary and charitable sector, faith groups, and academia to bring benefit to us all. This approach chimes well with what we are doing at Wokingham.
The council has already written to the prime minister, setting out our challenges but also our ambitions and achievements. We will continue to engage with him to ensure Wokingham’s message is heard.
At this early stage, as I consider the likely impact on our borough of Mr Burnham, I am neither pessimistic (convinced it will all go wrong) nor optimistic (convinced it will all go right). But, for the moment at least, I am hopeful.
By Cllr Stephen Conway
