A couple of months ago Gordon Brown said that he wanted a “different kind of politics”. He said that he would “listen and learn”. Gordon Brown is a liar.
When Shropshire County Council first proposed abolishing local councils and replacing them with a single, sub-regional unitary authority, people said they didn’t want it. Three of the five districts that were under threat held referenda and all three referenda rejected the idea of one council for Shropshire. The county council, however, showed its utter contempt for public opinion by not only continuing with its bid but submitting its proposal to central government on the day one of the referenda results were due to be announced.
In all, local democracy is being abolished in nine areas and being replaced with unitary authorities.