David Cameron and Michael Heseltine were in town today to introduce a new package of policy proposals.
The press launch was well attended by local party members, prospective candidates and councillors. I was really impressed with some of the ideas on offer.
The core idea is to remove power from central government and put it back in local hands, and return power to traditional forums of local democracy. David was candid in saying that some of the impetus to centralise power did come from the 80's Conservative government - for example in response the activities of the Militant tendency control of Liverpool.
In the question and answer session afterward, Michael Heseltine reassured the party that Britain's relationship with Europe offered no constraints to this process, and pointed to the examples of German bundesländer and French arrondissements as examples of local democracy coexisting with European integration.
One of the best ideas from the paper didn't get any mention at the launch event which is a bit disappointing:
Bonds and business rates: On top of controlling capital funding currently held by quangos, the city governments should have the power to issue bonds and borrow on the open market, having their own credit rating. They should retain all the business rates they collect from new developments to provide incentives and funding for regeneration and infrastructure.
This is a fantastic idea, and the first application of this principle to Bristol could be a "Light Rail Bond" to fund some dramatic changes to our transport infrastructure. [Addendum 2008: I love the idea of light rail, but the more I read about it the more sceptical I get about the real economic benefits. When you look at the enormous capital investment required to build mass transit, compared to the flexibility associated with reducing the cost of personal transportation, I can't shake the suspicion that building light rail in Bristol makes as much sense as building canals. More research needed, I think.]
