 Northumberland Conservatives are calling for more power to be given to local authorities with key decisions being taken closer to those they affect, instead of in Whitehall.
At a meeting of all twelve North East local authorities at the Sage Gateshead on Friday 8 January, Northumberland Conservatives outlined their 'localism' agenda which would directly help local authorities deal more efficiently with issues such as adverse weather conditions which have affected the county over recent weeks, and bring local services back to the people.
Commenting, Hexham Parliamentary Candidate, Guy Opperman (pictured alongside Peter Jackson, leader of Northumberland Conservatives and Bob Neill MP) said: "Key decisions which affect our residents' lives in Hexham constituency and the rest of Northumberland, should be taken in so far as is possible by local councillors, not unelected bureaucrats in Westminster. The change will be less Labour red tape and more freedom to provide for the local authority. We need to change the basis of power and bring it back to the people."
Shadow Local Government and Communities Minister Bob Neill MP spoke at the conference, organised by the Association of North East Councils (ANEC) and said that, under a Conservative government, local authorities will be given the opportunity to receive funding for businesses directly.
Mr Neill said: "We will give local authorities the chance to have their say and we would want to give those councils the chance to bid to take over the funding, so the money will stay local. I think that is a much more accountable way of dealing with this."
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