Tories and Labour can't continue to shy away from the crisis in local government funding
The funding crisis affecting councils has been rarely mentioned on the campaign trail but it should be front and centre of any incoming government’s priorities.
There is no getting away from the crisis that councils are facing up and down the country. It is not just Labour or Tory run councils that are affected.
The scale of the challenge is highlighted by the fact that it’s not just councils in left behind areas that are struggling.
However, chances are neither Labour or the Tories will want to spend too much time dwelling on the issue because it is an issue that requires difficult decisions, with 37 county authorities facing a £2bn funding gap over the next two years, according to the County Councils Network (CCN).
This will have a direct impact on people’s lives. There is no way the next government can continue to ignore the crisis.
The last thing any party wants is for key services to be either cut or even potentially collapsing.
The County Councils Network (CCN) makes some suggestions in its cross-party Manifesto for Counties that merit the attention of political parties.
One of which is to provide multi-year, sustainable funding. It makes sense to set out four-year funding settlements for councils. It enables authorities to plan ahead.
The manifesto also calls for the extension of economic devolution in order to give county authorities as many tools as possible to boost economic productivity and prosperity.
Whoever forms the next government won’t be able to avoid the crisis.