Councils and public should share power

COUNCIL leader Jim McMahon wants to shift the balance of power between services and the public - to create a “co-operative community”.

Councillor McMahon is chairman of the Co-operative Councils Innovation Network, launched at the annual Local Government Association conference in Manchester.

The organisation is a network of local authorities committed to changing the way they work by building equal partnerships with local people.

Oldham is one of 16 councils signed up to the network. They work together to share ideas to make the most of existing networks, groups and assets.

Councillor McMahon said in a speech to the conference: “Many communities are disengaged from local democracy. Councils can seem like distant bureaucracies and as organisations we as councils are struggling to manage huge funding reductions, just as local people are putting more and more demand on services.

“We need to work together in genuine and equal partnership with local people to make the most of the strengths that lie in our communities.

“We need to step out of the town hall and back into communities to tackle old issues in new ways.

“We believe the co-operative principals of empowerment, equal partnership and collective action offer a positive route not simply to survive through tough times, but to enable local communities to thrive.

“The network gives us the opportunity to share what works.”