“I thought the best thing to do was to settle up these little local difficulties, and then turn to the wider vision of the Commonwealth.”
Harold Macmillan
My home constituency of Chesham and Amersham has been much in the news over the past few days, with Sarah Green delivering a huge upset to the Conservative Government. Overturning a 16,000 vote majority may have seemed inconceivable after the Conservative Party’s Hartlepool by-election victory over Labour just six weeks ago, but it just proves how British politics is in a continual state of flux at present: and particularly when big local issues are so central.
Getting the balance right between national and local is critically important, not just for Government but also for other long-standing institutions: including commercial businesses and religious denominations.
So in this commentary we suggest that it's not ‘either-or’ but ‘both-and’ which is what matters: choosing what happens locally and what nationally is critical.
All the candidates in last Thursday’s by-election understood the strength of local feeling about the HS2 high speed railway, and the destruction it is causing in the Chiltern Hills: however all three major Parties, including the Liberal Democrats, supported its construction.
The arrogant attack on an ‘Area of Outstanding National Beauty’ by bulldozers and compulsory acquisition, combined with the presence of stormtroopers guarding construction sites 24/7 in order to keep protestors out, has caused massive local resentment.
Both Conservatives and Liberal Democrat candidates stated their opposition but this inconsistency with their Party policy only stuck to the former. Sarah Green managed to present herself as the local champion and she won the seat convincingly.
On national issues such as Brexit, vaccine distribution and trade deals, there would no doubt be a good level of support: but, as the hand-written letter from Sarah Green to voters demonstrates, these national issues were eclipsed by the distress caused by local destruction.
All large organisations have to get this balance between local and national right. For commercial organisations, the former enables best customer service whereas the latter keeps costs under control. The banking sector has found this a struggle, whereas retail supermarkets have generally got the balance right.
Another body which could do with some careful local-national re-balancing is the Church of England. From its 16th century origins, it has been a ‘bottom-up’ organisation consisting of thousands of independent charities and a pair of Archbishops whose ability to control the organisation is almost non-existent.
The Church has three key roles: mission, ministry and administration. Whereas ministry remains very relevant to the de-centralised parochial system, unfortunately - when it comes to administration - there is a massive overload of duplicated administration and regulation: much of which could be delivered centrally with the benefits of automation. Huge amounts of time and money are therefore wasted which could be much better employed in its ministry and mission.
In February 2017, the General Synod passed a Private Member’s Motion (which I tabled) which stated that matters which are purely administrative are no longer subject to subsidiarity: but little has happened to put this decision into effect.
Mission could also do with some intelligent national oversight. Very few local churches manage to connect with our changing society, and particularly with young people and minority ethnic communities. Digital mission can be a much more effective way to reach these communities, as our old friends at Premier Christian Radio have proved: but national initiatives such as these need to provide a bridge into local churches in order to ensure that local connections can develop into ministry and pastoral support.
It's another illustration of the need to keep local and national priorities in balance. Whether in politics, business or the Church, all organisations exist to serve a fluid human community whose structure, shape and sentiment is as dynamic as the weather. This requires a responsive and flexible approach.
Politics is challenged to keep on the ball by regular elections; commercial businesses must remain competitive; but it's more difficult for religious organisations whose timeframe is far beyond the human lifespan. The Church is therefore presented with a massive challenge: without any similar external stimulus, it must discipline itself in order to respond effectively.
Gavin Oldham OBE
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