January 2020: Let’s get local government done


Councillor Howard Sykes MBE is Leader of the LGA’s Liberal Democrat Group

We now need to ensure that the promises are kept. 

There is no doubt this was a tough General Election campaign – no-one likes knocking on doors on cold and dark nights. I don’t know where you were, but it never stopped raining where I was on election day.

“It’s up to us to stand up and fight for our residents”

The votes have been counted and we know who the Government will be for the next five years. 

I am as disappointed as many of you are with the result – especially after so much promise and hard work.

Local government is still here, for now! It’s up to us to stand up and fight for our residents.  We need to ensure that the Government isn’t just blinkered by one subject. 

Loads of promises were made, and it is our role to make sure those promises are now delivered by those in government. 

As first goes to press, we await another Queen’s speech and a look at what the provisional local government financial settlement holds for us.

We now need concrete action – on the financial crisis in children services, on rebooting devolution across the country post-Brexit, on building more social rented homes and tackling the deepening nightmare that has become social care funding.

I hope you and your family and friends had a restful and joyous Christmas and all the best for the New Year!