"No linkage of national to local politics - over centralisation.
I don't know what this means - you want your council changed when the Conservatives are in power at Westminster?"
Councils have different boundaries to Parliamentary constituencies so an obvious disconnect.
The chain of command is broken - in some countries the "leader" of the council may be a parliamentary representative. In England local government is accountable to a relatively junior minister.
Funding is centrally controlled through grants, business rates, community charge etc. Activities are largely mandatory with very little local discretion. Local democracy in action in name only.
There are very obvious reasons why things like defence, foreign policy, taxation (mostly), legal framework, national transport infrastructure etc should be a national responsibility.
There is a role for central government in setting standards for key deliverables but councils should have far mor discretion and be far more accountable for local delivery, and the ability to flex services to meet the needs of their local community.
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