I have held a meeting this afternoon (20th December) with the Leader of the Liberal Democrats, Rt Hon Nick Clegg, on behalf of all Liberal Democrat Councillors.
There was a significant agreement between us on:
- The short term problems being faced by local government in delivering the Financial Settlement
- The need for the Government to accurately describe those problems
- The need to move swiftly to a major overhaul of the local government finance system
- The need to pull together the various strands of localism running throughout government into a coherent body of policy and actions
We have agreed a series of actions both between ourselves and our advisers which will take place between Christmas and early spring on all four fronts.
I welcome the personal interest the Leader takes in local government matters both in holding this meeting and agreeing the series of actions. I look forward to working with Mr Clegg in the run up to next year’s local elections.
