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Localism and devolution

We believe in localism and the transfer of political power to communities.

Power, decision-making and resources should be as close to people and communities as possible. The Localism Act 2011 has started this journey. Locality is campaigning for this to go further.

The Localism Commission

Findings from the National Commission on the Future of Localism

In 2017, we set up the Commission on the Future of Localism, in association with our partner, Power to Change. The aim was to reinvigorate the localism agenda and help communities take advantage of their rights.

The Commission was chaired by Lord Kerslake, former Head of the Civil Service and President of the Local Government Association. We gathered feedback from community organisations, parliamentarians, local government and policy experts.

The Commission’s Report, People Power, details our findings and calls for radical action to:

  • strengthen local institutions
  • devolve tangible power resources and control to communities
  • ensure equality in community participation
  • deliver change in local government behaviour and practice to enable local initiatives to thrive.


Localism in Action: Power Partnerships

Following on from the work of the Localism Commission, Locality alongside Power to worked with four local authorities on an action research project alongside Power to Change and Local Trust. The research showed how councils can drive forward a radical new localism agenda.

Locality worked with community organisations and Big Locals as well as councillors and officers in Cornwall, Southwark, Stevenage and Wigan to find out more about the drivers, enablers and barriers to localism.

The Power Partnerships report outlines the ways for local authorities to shift power to people, build local capacity and ownership.


71%
of people feel they have little or no control over local decisions