Budget Decision

Midsummer Day seems as good a time as any to reflect on the year so far.  Of course, local government has been dominated by the Budget decision.

A small number of people on the Hard Left advocated not setting a budget.  Instead they wanted a DErek Hatton style stand off with the government.  I recall pointing out to one of these armchair warriors, that this didn't seem to work very well in the 1980s.  His response was that in the 1980s we had a rightwing government and a rightwing press determined to denigrate local councils that stood out against the government.  When I pointed out that much the same situation was in place today, he seemed stumped for an answer. 

It is notable that no local authority has gone down the Hard Left route, not even Tower Hamlets.