Every few years, decentralisation returns as a promise: bring decisions closer to the people they affect. The instinct is right.
But authority without funding is a familiar trap. A council can be handed responsibility for a harbour and still lack the means to repair it.
The new law’s success will not be judged by its language. It will be judged by the size and reliability of the transfers that follow.
Give councils real budgets and hold them accountable for the results. Anything less repeats an old disappointment.
