Parish, town and community councils are genuinely democratic vehicles for translating fine words about localism into reality

Recent debates on the government’s flagship localism policy have tended to focus on the reform of the planning system and the devolution of powers to local councils and elected mayors. James Derounian argues that the role that parish and town councils can play in delivering localism has been mostly overlooked. To deliver real localism, government must encourage principal authorities to cede power and funds to the most local of local authorities.