British politics is rotting from the bottom up: pity our crisis-hit local councils | Simon Jenkins

Starved of powers and funds and then belittled by ministers, the collapse of town hall democracy is a scandal unfolding in real time

Every review of Britain 2023 says the same. The country is not being well run. From policing to care homes, from postal services to sewage spills, from youth clubs to potholes, everywhere is failure. Small wonder just 20% of Britons now have any faith in their national politicians, one of the lowest figures in a western democracy.

Nowhere is this decline more evident...