It is almost impossible for ministers to entertain the idea that, come the next general election, they may not be in government. To do so would be to remove their very reason for existence. For the rest of the machinery of govern- ment, however, planning beyond May 2010 becomes complicated by the serious possibility of a change of administration, or 'election blight'. It is especially problematic if the Opposition is committed to scrapping programmes or legislation currently at the starting blocks. This week, two separate issues directly concerning local government are affected by election blight. One is the plan for new unitaries in Devon, Norfolk and Suffolk.
展开▼
