Local governments in England staring 'bankruptcy' in the face
Years of financial strain have pushed services to the brink in an election year
In April, the new financial year starts in England, and, for millions of households, that means the arrival of the council tax bill — the demand for money to be paid to local authorities to fund things such as street cleaning, libraries, and social services.
But this April, the envelope falling through the door will be a lot heavier than usual as bills have rocketed, because after years of bubbling under, a full-on local government funding emergency has erupted, with inescapable and very visible consequences for everyone across the country.
While issues such as health and defense are dealt with at a national level, many other no less important things, like social services and street cleaning, are organized locally.
According to the Institute for Local Government, in 2014, 7 percent of tax collection in England was done at a local level, compared to 12 percent in Italy, 32 percent in Germany, and almost 50 percent in Canada, meaning local authorities are heavily reliant on central government funding. But between 2009 and 2019, those government contributions fell by 40 percent.
In 2009, David Cameron, who was prime minister at the time, gave a speech when, in the aftermath of the global financial crisis, he announced that "the age of irresponsibility is giving way to the age of austerity … a new culture of thrift".
When Cameron abruptly left office in 2016 following the Brexit referendum, the political focus shifted elsewhere, and the issue was largely ignored, until the recent dam-burst, which has seen councils declaring bankruptcy and services facing bigger cuts than ever before.
