AS the fallout from last week’s General Election continues and the dust begins to settle on the campaigns of the last few months, our focus now turns to a much more pressing issue closer to home for local authorities across Scotland. Work has begun in earnest for all my fellow councillors elected to represent the communities we serve. The clear message we focused on when out and about on the doorstep was on the quality of the day-to-day public services that so many people rely on – whether that’s our schools and education, our care for the most vulnerable, the condition of local roads or the quality of our local environment. The public services and issues that local government is responsible for every day of the year and the issues that we believe make a difference to the quality of people’s lives.
In Renfrewshire, we are ambitious for the people who live and work here. We want to bring about a change that will invigorate the spirit and talent of our communities, strengthen local business, inspire others to make Renfrewshire their home and to draw investment to us. We have enviable assets to capitalise on; stunning architecture, a rich cultural heritage and the creativity of our people. We will set about creating long-lasting positive economic prospects and opportunities for everyone in Renfrewshire – whether that’s through Paisley’s bid for UK City of Culture in 2021, through our innovative approaches to raising attainment and our work to tackling deep-seated poverty and improve life chances. To achieve this, local voices have to be heard and heeded.
Against a backdrop of Westminster austerity cuts, local government has been put under intense pressure to perform more with less, which in turn puts constraints on local government’s ability to move faster on these key priorities. We see this as a challenge in Renfrewshire which we will rise to, and it will be demanding, but we will continue to argue for the resources we feel are needed to support core vital services.
As a serving councillor for almost 30 years I have seen “reformation” of local government come and go and this will continue; however the enduring issue is one of finance and resources to do what the public expects us to do and do it well.
Rejoining the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities was one of our early decisions as a new administration and I’m looking forward to being back around the table at the highest levels of government to make sure Renfrewshire gets the best deal. Working with all our colleagues across the country, Scottish ministers may now find us a more unified voice in pushing the local government agenda.
Across Europe, there are great examples of where policy has been made through coalition and consensus. Local politics can be tribal and we have had our challenges in Renfrewshire, but we now need a new kind of politics. As the leader of the largest party in Renfrewshire but a minority administration, the public has in effect, decided for us. We must work together as politicians and with the communities who elected us. Only then can we protect the services that so many of us rely on today and want to secure for tomorrow.
Political uncertainty at home and across the world looks set to remain. Never before has it been more important to ensure that locally we focus on the things that matter to people and that help people feel connected to their place. National politicians must now grasp the nettle and tackle the relationship with local government once and for all, making a commitment to our role, giving us our place and taking the opportunity to define a new way of working that works for local people.
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