'The election in 2015 will be an important juncture for our public services – the course pursued after this point will determine whether they can play an effective role in the future in overturning the social determination of poor life chances. The twin pressures of rising demand and shrinking resources are forcing a choice. Either to continue, as this government has largely pursued, the course of salami-slicing Whitehall budgets, squeezing separate services and tinkering around the edges of traditional modes of delivery. This will lead to the decline, retrenchment and residualisation of public services with ever-higher thresholds for use and the termination of some altogether', writes Manchester Labour leader Sir Richard Leese in a New Statesman article arguing for greater localism to tackle regional inequality:
http://www.newstatesman.com/politics/2014/03/labour-must-challenge-myths-about-decentralisation
