Eruptions liven the election

It was the late PM Harold Macmillan who famously remarked that the best-laid schemes of politicians could be easily overturned by ‘events, dear boy.’
The bizarre spectacle of an Icelandic volcano erupting during an election campaign, managing to ground every single plane in the UK and scuppering candidates’ plans to tour election battlegrounds would certainly come under the definition of ‘events.’
So, too, does the saga of Doncaster MBC – which has also managed to erupt at an inconvenient time – come under events. The only difference is that this particular volcano has been squirting lava for many years without any noticeable reaction either from the local government ‘family’ or inspectors... until this week.
The Audit Commission, in its corporate governance report, noted there was ‘repeated evidence’ that it had ‘not been well run for 15 years.’ Indeed, readers of The MJ will be familiar with the long-running political soap opera that is Doncaster. The commission’s report, which recommends intervention, is blistering in its criticism of the political culture at the council.
A few years ago, such a report during an election campaign would have fuelled not only a torrent of party politicking but also brought down scorn on local government.
The fact that generally, it has not is largely due to the absence of ‘basket cases’, the recognition by MPs that they are the last people to be criticising local politicians, and the acceptance that councils will be part of the solution in helping the next government deliver its agenda in tough economic times.
Nonetheless, while the LGA has shown commendable leadership in sending into Doncaster its own corporate heavyweights, the saga has already gone on far too long.
Observers will note that the commission’s report has done it no harm in proving there is still a case for having external inspectors at a time when many council leaders are campaigning for the commission to be scrapped.
It would have been better if the local government family had intervened earlier, and sorted out its bad apples before they went truly rotten.