Are councils simply there to deliver the bare minimum - basic services at the lowest possible cost, writes Emily Young, Lib-Dem East Hampshire District Councillor for Alton Westbrooke.

Or are they expected to do more — such as shaping local identity, supporting vibrant communities, boosting the economy, and enhancing everyday life?

Most people would say the latter. We pay council tax expecting more than just bins and bureaucracy.

We expect leadership that invests in people and place - not just the bottom line. Councils should champion livelihoods, culture, climate resilience, local enterprise, and community wellbeing.

Yet councils in Hampshire and other councils across the country are being pushed toward a stripped-back model focused solely on legal obligations and financial savings.

On paper, it may look efficient. But in practice, it risks hollowing out local life and weakening public trust.

This is the core of the debate around Local Government Reorganisation (LGR) in Hampshire.

A group of 12 councils, working with KPMG, supports a model designed to strengthen local services, retain identity, and involve residents - while ensuring long-term sustainability. Their vision seeks to balance reform with community leadership.

But East Hampshire District Council (EHDC), aligned with Hampshire County Council (HCC), has broken away to pursue a different approach: one centred almost entirely on financial efficiency and the delivery of statutory minimums.

Their proposal prioritises adult social care and SEND spend, which now consumes a majority of HCC’s budget.

These services are vital - but are also becoming financially unsustainable. Indeed, in 2025–26 alone, the County faces a £175 million projected deficit, largely due to soaring demand in these areas. Predictions even suggest social care could consume nearly the entire council budget by the early 2030s.

That’s a serious problem - but cutting everything else to sustain it isn’t a solution. Sacrificing libraries, leisure, local business support, climate action, and cultural life to keep up with growing care costs is short-sighted. These areas aren’t luxuries. They are the foundations of vibrant, healthy communities.

The way EHDC’s breakaway has been managed raises concerns. The council commissioned PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) to develop a competing proposal - duplicating work already underway with KPMG and adding unnecessary public cost.

This decision was made without full agreement from elected councillors. Though the proposal is due to be discussed in full council among all councillors, the final decision about EHDC’s preferred LGR model rests with its Tory cabinet, limiting public accountability.

Local Government Reorganisation should be an opportunity to renew and strengthen local democracy - not reduce it to a cost-cutting exercise.

Redrawing council boundaries may (or may not) deliver structural efficiencies, but it won’t fix underfunding.

True reform must be rooted in meaningful local leadership and backed by fair funding from central government.

Councils must be more than administrators of decline. They must lead, invest, and build.

Local government should empower communities - not retreat from them. If LGR is driven solely by finance, residents - especially the most vulnerable - will pay the price. But if it’s driven by purpose, vision, and trust in local voices, it could be a real step forward.

Emily Young, Lib-Dem East Hampshire District Councillor for Alton Westbrooke