The Tension of Local Government

If you give local authorities the power to borrow in the way that Woking did and it doesn't work, who is culpable? And there are big, big risks. I always remember this tension summed up in the build up to the 97 election when Tony Blair, their leader of the opposition, addressed a big council conference. He said, look, we'll give you powers as long as you use those powers responsibly. And that sums up the conundrum because who decides what is responsible? That is the tension that will be a running theme of the next Labour government, assuming there is one.