Commenting on the latest results of the Government’s Citizenship Survey, which found that fewer people feel they can influence decisions locally and nationally than in 2001, Liberal Democrat Shadow Communities and Local Government Secretary, Julia Goldsworthy said:

"Thanks to this Government’s obsession with centralisation, people are feeling even less empowered.

"Despite their efforts to talk the talk on community empowerment, today’s results show that they are failing to walk the walk.

"Communities must be given real powers to make decisions that affect their area. How can we expect people to engage with democratic structures if they don’t believe it will make any difference?"