London Councils Summit: The Evil One is amongst us

The Right Honourable Eric Pickles MP, Secretary for State for Communities and Local Government (left - aka "the evil one") was the keynote speaker at the Summit.  He promised no jokes about bonfire night, about blowing up Parliament or about a Bonfire of Quango’s.  

Being Eric, he happily attacked the Chair Jules Pipe's previous remarks as “Booker Prize” fiction and claimed that the local government settlement had not yet been decided.  He did not recognise the figures about the cuts mentioned by Jules.  He had a dig at Jules and Hackney Council over a supposed expenditure of £38m on temporary staff which resulted in a contractor making £6.5m in profit. 

He promised it will be tough.  But Councils will have powers, influences, choices and more freedom than they have had in decades (probably 25 years).  Even if the coffers were overflowing, we would still pass power down to local councils and communities.  It was Big Government and Big spending that got us into this mess.  If you want local services - don’t control on high.  Give councils control of purse wings, stop tying them up in red tape and let them get on with it.  It's about power and influence as well as raw figures.  We’ve had 3 decades of central control and look where it got us?  Give it a try.  Look at Camden and Islington sharing CEO.  Hammersmith, Westminster and Kensington, demonstrate the future of public services.  All of us should rise to the challenge, innovate and give residents better deals.  The Shackles are removed.  We could save £60 million if all London Local Government Pension Schemes were merged. 

There is a load of rubbish about mergers and super councils.  No one is saying this. Local identity is paramount.  Residents should not notice a difference except better services.  Localism is the only show in town.  Being a prisoner for decades - now is your time to bask in the sun.  Quakers.  Orwellian double speak councils suffocated by government.  We want to let you get on with it.  You don’t want me darkening your doorstep.  It will be the voters.  Instead of saying to me “What should I do Secretary of State?” Do it yourself.

Be genuinely open and transparent. If you are confident you have done no wrong, then there is no reason not to be.  15 councils have put all their spending on line?  Why don’t the others? There is a new balance of power.  Based on fairness (laughter from audience) - is it fair that people on £40k per year get Child benefits? is it fair people in your ward can only live there because they are on benefits?  Time to live in the real world (some clapping but some booing).  I know this for a fact - but had Labour won they would have done the same thing as us (more heckling).  Housing Benefit up £5 billion” this is unfair and unaffordable.  The disgraceful talk about “social cleansing” (I helpfully mentioned "Kosovo") The myths and hysteria - not facts.  

London is a great capital.  London once again is at forefront of local governance and innovation in this country.

There was more “knock about” politics in the Q&A with Eric playing the biggest and baddest Tory Tyke ever and Jules trying to keep order and remain polite and reasonable.  Eric claimed that for 80% of private sector housing benefit claimants the total change will be less than £10 per week so people should “grow up” about this.  There was lots of clapping and heckling which seemed to upset the "Sir Bufton Tufton" Tory Councillors present. 

Since Eric justified the reason why new “public housing” rents will be 80% of market rents by claiming that Housing associations had asked the Tories to do this - I asked a question to Eric about last weeks Inside Housing magazine which predicted that the rent of such new Council and Housing association housing would increase by an average of £130 per week (I repeat a £130 per week) for an average 3 bed property.  But alas he ignored the question. 

UPDATE: Check out another Labour view of Eric's performance.
UPDATE: a good summary by LGC journo Allister Hayman