Unfortunately, before any answers started to become clear, the end of the first lockdown saw many local efforts apparently being wound down or fizzling out. I live in Frome in Somerset – where, in 2011, a town council with an annual budget of about £1m was wrested from the Tories and Lib Dems. The rest of the country will suffer so long as Westminster holds the purse strings | John Harris Read moreIn the first phase of the pandemic, the agile, open way that the town council now works came into its own. This work, which also includes help for local businesses, has carried on; the town council is now thinking hard about how to sustain it beyond the pandemic. As part of the local elections scheduled for May 2021, there will be elections for a huge number of town and parish councils.

Source: The Guardian November 22, 2020 15:56 UTC