Political Opinion: Corby is paying into a system that isn’t paying us back
Walk through Corby on any given week and you’ll see the same thing — people stepping up where the system falls short. Volunteers running food banks. Residents organising litter picks. Local groups putting on festivals and youth clubs, says Gary Campbell, Councillor for Kingswood Ward, Corby.
It’s a testament to our community spirit. But let’s be honest — it’s also a necessity. We’re filling gaps in services that our town should be able to provide for itself.
Corby is home to around 70,000 people. Every year we raise millions in VAT, income tax, national insurance, road tax and property taxes. Yet when you look at what comes back to us in services, investment or local decision-making, it feels like pennies on the pound.
We live under a three-tier system — central government in Westminster, the North Northamptonshire unitary council, and then our own town council. In theory, each has its role. In reality, the central government keeps the lion’s share of the power and funding. The unitary has more responsibilities than it can realistically deliver. And the town council — with 17 elected councillors but only a handful of permanent staff — is left with little more than the power to organise events, make small grants, and hold meetings.
It’s considered normal that the tier of government closest to the people has the least ability to act. But why? And why is it acceptable that even our unitary authority’s hands are tied by Whitehall?
I’ve lived in countries where it’s different. In Canada and Germany, local government has far greater control over housing, planning, transport, and public safety. Here, even in one of the most deprived areas in the Midlands — still bearing the scars of the steelworks collapse — we watch decisions affecting us being made far away.
If this were just about money, it would be bad enough. But it’s also about dignity. Our history as a pioneer town — built by workers from across the UK and beyond — taught us to value self-reliance. Yet today, we’re like a wagon train shorn of its horses, waiting for someone else to decide when we can move.
The two-party system won’t fix this. Party politics is too often about the next election, not the next generation. What Corby, and towns like it, needs is real devolution — power and resources placed directly into the hands of communities, so we can solve our own problems rather than waiting for permission from above.
Until then, we’ll keep paying into a system that doesn’t pay us back. And we’ll keep asking the question no one in power seems to want to answer: if we have the people, the history and the will — why can’t we have the power too?