In a Pickle

The following is taken word for word from the government’s own website at the launch of ther localism bill in which Eric Pickles is quoted as saying:

The Localism Bill will herald a ground-breaking shift in power to councils and communities overturning decades of central government control and starting a new era of people power.

It is the centrepiece of what this Government is trying to do to fundamentally shake up the balance of power in this country. For too long, everything has been controlled from the centre – and look where it’s got us. Central government has kept local government on a tight leash, strangling the life out of councils in the belief that bureaucrats know best.

By getting out of the way and letting councils and communities run their own affairs we can restore civic pride, democratic accountability and economic growth – and build a stronger, fairer Britain. It’s the end of the era of big government: laying the foundations for the Big Society.

Announcement – Localism Bill starts a new era of people power
Organisation: Department for Communities and Local Government
Page history: Published 13 December 2010

Well – three years down the road the residents of Bloxham are – to put it mildly – struggling to reconcile policy with practice!

If politicians of all colours wonder why the number of people bothering to turn out to vote has shown a steep decline in recent years then they could do worse than to make a case study on the central government decision to thrust yet more estates upon Bloxham – against the will of not just residents but also both the parish and district councils – riding a coach and horses through the work of creating both Local and Neighnourhood Plans. Mr Pickles has decided ‘Developers rule OK!’ Yes – this may totally castrate the local democratic process and – yes it may violate the central tenet of the Localism Act but – well – tough luck!
If this is ‘letting councils and communities run their own affairs’ then I’d sure hate to see what a centralist government might be like!

Some UK phrases and definitions:

Localism – a policy based upon telling people decisions will be taken locally whilst actually shifting them in the exact opposite direction
‘In a pickle.’ A phrase meaning ‘in trouble’ which was originally an allusion to being as disoriented and mixed up as the stewed vegetables that made up pickles. Increasingly also acquiring a new meaning of having got into trouble because you foolishly believed someone actually meant what they said.