Nigel Farage has warned that a major Labour plan will be a “disaster” and the “opposite” of what Andy Burnham wants. The leader of Reform UK is campaigning before voters go to the polls in the Clacton by-election. Mr Farage resigned as the MP for the area on July 7 amid controversy over a £5million gift from British cryptocurrency investor Christopher Harborne. He claims this was to pay for his personal security. The Parliamentary Standards Commissioner launched an investigation in May into why the sum was not declared. Mr Farage insists he has “done no wrong”.
Now, during a walkabout on his Essex patch, he has lashed out at Labour’s proposal to restructure local government, creating more unitary councils and disbanding district councils. In July, plans for new councils in 14 areas of England were announced as part of the latest stage of the overhaul to abolish the current two-tier system of local authorities. The reforms will see 134 councils reorganised into 38 unitary authorities in these areas.
“Our real worry, and this is absolutely true, is that if local government reorganisation goes ahead, this district council will disappear,” Mr Farage told The Telegraph while showing off a “stunning” garden in his former constituency maintained by Tendring District Council.
He added: “We’ll be chucked into a big unitary, an amorphous mass, and the decisions will get made many, many miles away in the interests of big towns and cities… It is the opposite of devolution.
“And, look, if he wants to have his mayors all over the country, fine. All right. That’s fine.
“But to get rid of district councils will for rural areas and seaside areas literally be a disaster.”
Before resigning as the Cabinet member overseeing local government, Steve Reed said the current system of local government is “inefficient”, and reforms would reduce “wasteful” duplication and improve public services.
“Some of our smaller cities are highly productive, but have been constrained by tight boundaries, set decades ago, which stop them from building the homes they need,” he said.
“Others are more rural, with significant demand for social care services and affordable housing. Local government should be set up to address the unique circumstances of each area and design public services tailored to each community.”
The Prime Minister announced on Friday that regional mayors will be allowed to keep a slice of income tax and business rates to spend on their priorities.