Dr Burgess is advocating greater involvement of councils in all things local and makes all sorts of wonderful statements such as: 'Rural communities can have greater influence over local decisions'

'Local councillors could be made stronger democratic champions acting on behalf of their communities'

'In essence - we support greater ‘Double Devolution'! Whitehall to local government and from local to Parish - working in partnership with strong community voices.'

'It is only at the very local level that policies and services can truly reflect local circumstances.'

‘Seeing that localism and local decision-making is in the ascendancy.'

‘Seeing that Town and Parish are an under-utilised resource - and that given the right tools for the job, they have potential to deliver real and positive change for their communities.'

 These are all great aspirations and I've no doubt something is happening along these lines in some way or another in most parts of England - whether we like it or not!

Trouble is, by the time the government has finished, the only thing that will actually be devolved down is the cost and the aggravation, everything else will have been hived off to the regional non-government - it can't be government if it's not elected can it?

I'm dismissing these promises of genuine devolution and genuine localisation based on what has happened in South Holland to date.  Not what's happened to services provided by local government, but to the local services controlled by central government, or one of its many instruments of ‘control'. 

We are currently been asked to lend our support to campaigns to fight the closure and relocation of our local tax office and our local driving test centre.  We have yet to hear about any local post offices that will be closed and whilst we still have our local magistrates court, unlike some other nearby towns, I wonder how long it will before ours is ‘reviewed', consulted on and then shut anyway!  My personal expereince is of health provision that requires a trip to Lincoln, 45 miles away, to receive treatment that used to be provided locally in Boston at the Pilgrim Hospital. 

So the version of localism that is now on offer to us in local government, seems to mean picking up the tab for whatever doesn't want, (because these are the bits that don't matter to them) whilst shouting impotently about the loss of genuinely valued and genuine localised services.