Britain’s towns and cities will never flourish if ‘local’ is a dirty word | Simon Jenkins

For years, councils have been starved of resources. The resulting crisis in public services is matched by a crisis of democracy

Some people think Britain’s greatest challenge is the impending Brexit. They are wrong. Britain’s greatest challenge is the impending collapse in its local public services. I recently travelled to cities in France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany. The contrast to Britain was stark. Of course surface impressions can be deceptive, but I was struck by the absence of...