General election 2024 - how five parties would support local councils and communities

This year, Birmingham City Council served as a painful reminder of how communities can be deeply unsettled by issues at the heart of local government. The council found itself having to approve an enormous wave of cuts to services in March amid a perfect storm of factors.

They include Birmingham-specific issues, such as an equal pay fiasco and the disastrous implementation of a new IT and finance system, as well as the rising demand for services and cuts in funding from central government. Birmingham City Council’s (BCC) leader John Cotton has previously criticised the Conservative government and argued there was a crisis brewing across local government affecting councils of all political stripes.

Speaking to the Local Democracy Reporting Service in the build-up to the general election, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said the government had backed local government with an extra £600 million of funding. He went on to say that the bleak financial situation at BCC was the result of mistakes made by the Labour council administration.

READ MORE: Major Smithfield plans to 'transform' Birmingham city centre approved

Amid this worrying backdrop here in Birmingham, here’s a look at some of the ways political parties in England have said they would support local authorities, the communities they serve and public services.

Conservative Party

In its 2024 manifesto, the Conservative Party said its commitment to levelling up meant giving everyone the “opportunity to stay local and go far". If the Conservatives remain in power, priorities include providing 105 towns in the UK with a £20 million endowment fund; continuing to back Investment Zones; extending its Community Ownership Fund and giving local authorities a multi-year funding settlement to support social care.

“We will change planning laws to support places to bring back local market days and regenerate defunct shopping centres,” the manifesto continued. Other priorities include protecting residents from excessive council tax rises; banning the ‘four-day working week’ in local authorities and improving standards in councils by making their performance more transparent through the Office for Local Government.

The manifesto also says that by 2030, every part of England that wants one will have a devolution deal. It continued: “We will always stand behind councils and look to recognise the unique circumstances of coastal areas in the allocation of grant funding to local authorities, alongside providing fairer funding for rural areas through the Rural Services Delivery Grant.”

Labour Party

Many areas across the country have been held back because decisions are not taken by local leaders, according to the Labour Party’s manifesto. “Labour will transfer power out of Westminster, and into our communities, with landmark devolution legislation to take back control,” it continues. “In England, Labour will deepen devolution settlements for existing Combined Authorities.

“We will also widen devolution to more areas, encouraging local authorities to come together and take on new powers". If the Labour Party takes power, it says towns and cities will be able to “take hold of the tools they need” to pursue growth, create jobs, and improve living standards.

“Local areas will be able to gain new powers over transport, adult education and skills, housing and planning, and employment support,” it adds. The manifesto continued that it would give councils multi-year funding settlements and end “wasteful competitive bidding” to provide greater stability within local government.

Other priorities for Labour include a new statutory requirement for Local Growth Plans; improving public service workers’ living standards; abolishing Section 21 ‘no fault’ evictions and reviewing the governance arrangements for Combined Authorities to “unblock decision making”.

Liberal Democrats

The Liberal Democrats, in their 2024 manifesto, argued that the government was “robbing local communities of their powers and their resources”. They continued: “The Conservatives have forced councils to do more and more with less and less, plunging many into financial crisis.”

“Liberal Democrats will support local government through these difficult times and review the burdens and costs that councils have shouldered as a result of Conservative Government policies". This includes tackling the social care funding crisis; giving councils the freedom to set planning fees to reflect the actual cost of delivering an efficient planning service; and building more homes to relieve the soaring demand for temporary accommodation.

One priority for the Liberal Democrats is tackling the funding crisis facing local authorities, including by providing multi-year settlements; boosting the supply of social housing; and forging a long-term, cross-party agreement on social care. They also want to “end the top-down reorganisation of councils and the imposition of elected mayors on communities who do not want them” and ensure that gigabit broadband is available to every home and business.

Green Party

The Green Party’s manifesto says that small and medium-sized businesses are the “lifeblood” of the country’s economy and communities. Green MPs will therefore press for regional mutual banks to be set up to drive investment in decarbonisation and local economic sustainability as well as £2bn per year in grant funding for local authorities to help businesses decarbonise.

According to their manifesto, the Green Party also wants to encourage community ownership through greater access to government funding in the transition to a zero-carbon economy. “The Green Party is committed to the public ownership of public services, so they are run to serve us all, rather than to increase the wealth of shareholders,” it adds.

The Greens would also push for a £5 billion investment to support community sports, arts and culture, and to give local authorities control over and funding for improved bus services . Another priority is keeping local sports facilities, museums, theatres, libraries and art galleries open and thriving as well as pressing for an end to VAT on cultural activities.

Reform UK

Reform UK says it wants to relieve the pressure on housing and public services, as well as increase wages, which it says can be done by “freezing” non-essential immigration. “Essential skills, mainly around healthcare, must be the only exception,” the party’s ‘contract’ says.

It also wants to slash what it describes as “wasteful spending” to increase funding for frontline public services. “Every department must slash wasteful spending, cut bureaucracy, improve efficiency and negotiate better value procurement without touching frontline services,” it says.

Other priorities for Reform UK include cutting unnecessary regulations, cutting foreign aid by 50 per cent and reforming the planning system. Reform also wants to support Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs) by abolishing Business Rates for high street based SMEs.

“Offset this with Online Delivery Tax at 4 per cent for large, multinational enterprises to create a fairer playing field for high streets,” the contract says. Reform also wants to simplify social care through a single funding stream, instead of the split between the NHS and local authorities, adding: “More funding will be needed when a national plan is agreed."

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