Ideas 10...Local Government

Local government is both a major employer and very expensive. It is financed partly by a community charge paid by each household and partly from central government. It is responsible for the upkeep of emergency services (fire, police, ambulance), hospitals, swimming pools, public sports centres, libraries, road maintenance, parks, social housing, education, refuse collection, museums, tourism, local building development, care homes, public transport subsidies, etc. Local government was created at a time when it took days to travel by stage coach from one city to another. It therefore beggars the question; do we still need it in its present form?

This is the age of the internet, with instant communications regardless of distance. In an age of automation, robotics and AI, the working week will soon be greatly reduced. Clearly local government will be obliged to also reduce worker's hours, due to competition from other employers. This will make their services unaffordable. Most of these services will therefore require a large automated input. In order to make local services affordable, local government will have to be automated. The age of 'I Robot' will then be upon us. This technological development could then go one stage further. All local services could then be conceived, provided and controlled by just one central computer within central government.

This is inevitable because we live in a capitalist world where profits are generated by advancing technology which performs tasks cheaper, better and quicker than before. Other nations will do it, so the general public here will demand it. Whether civilisation will be the better for it, remains to be seen. It will be a new renaissance in a Pandora's box.

There have been three areas in which I have come into contact with my local government. These are:

Replacing Birmingham Central Library

Local Development

The Right To Buy Your Own Home