A COUNCIL chief has backed the government's drive to modernise local authorities.

Coun Azhar Ali told the Labour Party conference in Bournemouth that Pendle Council was already experimenting with new ways of improving local democracy and making it more accountable.

He spoke in a debate where local government minister Hilary Armstrong called for more councils to move towards cabinet government and hinted at the introduction of proportional representation for local elections.

The aim is to stop the one-party Labour councils which have embarrassed the leadership with corruption scandals.

And he promised to split the decision making and scrutiny functions of committees which are now frequently blurred.

Councillor Ali said that modernising local government and making it more relevant to people was vital. He said that the Labour group in Pendle were at the forefront of this process.

But he stressed that all parties and local electors must be consulted and said that in some areas Tories and Liberal Democrats had tried to impose change without consensus.

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