Miracles can happen ...

Steve Munby writes from what he describes as 'a body of work, not a body of theory', and draws on his experiences as a councillor and cabinet member in Liverpool to look at bottom-up solutions to some of the problems caused by neoliberalism. In Liverpool, as in a number of Labour-controlled councils, new ways of running local services are being pioneered that are managing to temper the worst of the centrally imposed cuts through imaginative programmes that are rolling back target-driven managerialism and an obsession with subcontracting. This is achieved through a focus on relationships and problem-solving rather than bureaucratic processes, and through devolving decision-making down to the lowest possible level. These new practices undoubtedly contributed to Labour's successes in the cities in the May 2015 national election, and these ideas are as necessary as new strategic thinking from the centre.