ABSTRACT
Local government in feudal times could virtually be defined as how lords of the manor chose to run their estates. The Local Government Finance Act 1992, conceived by Thatcher's partial nemesis, Michael Heseltine, shifted the basis of local government taxation back to property. The Local Government Act 1988 installed the 'community charge', or, as it was popularly known, the 'poll tax'. With the 1985 Local Government Act, Thatcher was able to abolish the Labour-dominated metropolitan county councils and later Ken Livingstone led the Greater London Council (GLC). Even though the September 2014 Scottish independence referendum was lost, there were calls from local government leaders, especially Manchester's Sir Richard Leese, for matching devolution for English regions. Local Government Association (Lga) body acts as an advocacy body for local government in its dealings with government. At Westminster, the tradition has been for elected ministers to be advised by civil servants who are generalist in their talents and outlook.
