Unlike some others, I do not assume automatically that the Conservatives will win the next general election, but I do think they are running a rather clever campaign and I watch carefully to see what will emerge from this quarter for regeneration policy.
This is quite hard to do, since a large part of the clever campaign is not to say too much! There seems to be a consensus that when William Hague led the Tories into battle that they went nap on too much too early, which meant that folk quickly found things with which to disagree.
However, one thing is abundantly clear: if the Tories get in they will devolve quango spending to councils.
What us New Starters need to wrestle with is this: if and when this happens how do we ensure that important functions are still carried out? The message is clear. The more we can stitch local authorities into their regeneration programmes the better.
There are over 400 local authorities out there who will be given the responsibility to deliver regeneration and place making in their areas – without much capacity (in many cases) or money to do it. Having worked with some inspirational local government officers in my time I do not think that this is necessarily a bad thing. Actually I see this as a major opportunity.
I am also rather encouraged by Caroline Spelman’s mastery of her brief. I’m not being a toady here, I’ve had this from the front line; regeneration practitioners who have dealt directly with Ms Spelman report that she is well read and well informed.
OK, so she’s rather posher than me, but I can’t hold that against her for much longer (I believe in equal opportunities after all) and if the Conservatives form the next administration, we should welcome their pledge not to move ministers around every two minutes with open arms.
Whatever happens, the debt remains. It is fin de siècle time and a crucial moment for all of us. In response, Bura is working on a suite of toolkits and templates to provide expert support and relationship brokering across sectors to ensure regeneration on a local basis is stitched firmly into the local authorities.
And we’ll be looking to work closely with the Local Government Association to deliver workable support and solutions.
And if this is not an opportunity for the breadth of experience within the grasp of Bura, then I’m a natural blonde!
Added on Thursday, 6th August 2009 | This entry has 2 comments
Unlike some others, I do not assume automatically that the Conservatives will win the next general election