Uploaded August 2026 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
Andy Burnham wants to give local authorities in England much greater financial power, but he is ignoring a crisis that makes this dangerous: the audit system meant to hold councils accountable has almost entirely collapsed. Since the Tories privatised local authority auditing in 2014 and abolished the Audit Commission in 2015, the market has failed to deliver, leaving nearly 1,000 audit opinions outstanding by 2023 and only around 1% of English council accounts filed on time in 2022/23.
This video explains how that collapse allowed financial disasters to build unchecked, including Woking's accumulation of roughly £2 billion in risky debt from property speculation and crises in Birmingham, Thurrock and Croydon. It argues that devolving more money and power to councils without first rebuilding independent audit, potentially by expanding the National Audit Office's remit, is a recipe for disaster, not decentralisation.
Take a look at the poll below: youtube.com/post/Ugkx1PX6S-k9RYE31Aoxv6h2f0vj9IqeXZzS
00:00 Why Devolution Needs Better Audit
01:15 Why Independent Audit Matters
02:28 The Collapse of Local Government Audit
03:45 Why Privatisation Failed
05:05 The Scale of the Audit Backlog
06:22 Why Reliable Accounts Matter
07:38 Birmingham, Woking, Thurrock and Croydon
09:05 Why Timely Audit Prevents Crises
10:05 Fix Audit Before Devolution
11:00 Rebuilding Public Accountability
TRANSCRIPT
A transcript for this video is available at: taxresearch.org.uk
IF YOU WANT TO WRITE TO YOUR MP ABOUT ISSUES IN THIS VIDEO
If you want to write a letter to your MP on the issues raised in this blog post, there is a ChatGPT prompt to assist you in doing so, with full instructions, here. taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2025/06/20/chatgpt-prompt-for-a-letter-to-your-mp
HOW TO SUPPORT US
Please consider donating: ko-fi.com/taxresearch
ABOUT RICHARD MURPHY
Richard Murphy is Emeritus Professor of Accounting Practice at Sheffield University Management School. He is director of Tax Research LLP and the author of the Funding the Future blog. His best-known book is ‘The Joy of Tax’.
This video was edited by Thomas Murphy.
RICHARD MURPHY ON BLUESKY:
https://bsky.app/profile/richardjmurphy.bsky.social
OR
ON MY BLOG: taxresearch.org.uk/Blog
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INTRODUCTION: youtube.com/watch?v=HdHsRPy3060
PLAYLISTS:
The Wealth Series
youtube.com/playlist?list=PLvRueM6wBgobQLeyZYAagFDMjEFTKbhRD
Ecenomics
youtube.com/playlist?list=PLvRueM6wBgob54Gs-fOL-8OAQ-IpduwB4
Britain
youtube.com/playlist?list=PLvRueM6wBgobwTT4ATvJjsf8OO6S7wD10
Tax
youtube.com/playlist?list=PLvRueM6wBgoaMni_12J6ULp3yUJisUZoY
MMT
youtube.com/playlist?list=PLvRueM6wBgoZ6jvRGSW5YXu8qogE6aClX
Money
youtube.com/playlist?list=PLvRueM6wBgoYnLk1c7syTvoIo8bKYUs5m
Climate Change
youtube.com/playlist?list=PLvRueM6wBgob4_wsYaVivWd2WumpPLYwJ
USA
youtube.com/playlist?list=PLvRueM6wBgoYYd3dSyU2Oyl3x7bWJOP7H
Labour
youtube.com/playlist?list=PLvRueM6wBgoa-KhzG-fnjDSg1WROL1zMw
The Trump Administration
youtube.com/playlist?list=PLvRueM6wBgobz41-GLimTho27A3flVWQx
#richardmurphy #richardjmurphy #economy #economics #accountancy #accounting #tax #uktax #ukeconomy #greennewdeal #uk #money #economy #politics #government #tax #labour #health #life #LocalGovernment #Audit #Devolution #PublicFinance #NationalAuditOffice #LocalAuthorities #UKPolitics #PublicAccountability #Accounting #Taxation #Democracy #PublicServices #FinancialGovernance #PoliticalEconomy #AndyBurnham #England #Economics #RichardMurphy #EconomicsOfHope #ValueForMoney
Andy Burnham wants to give local authorities in England much greater financial power, but he is ignoring a crisis that makes this dangerous: the audit system meant to hold councils accountable has almost entirely collapsed. Since the Tories privatised local authority auditing in 2014 and abolished the Audit Commission in 2015, the market has failed to deliver, leaving nearly 1,000 audit opinions outstanding by 2023 and only around 1% of English council accounts filed on time in 2022/23.
This video explains how that collapse allowed financial disasters to build unchecked, including Woking's accumulation of roughly £2 billion in risky debt from property speculation and crises in Birmingham, Thurrock and Croydon. It argues that devolving more money and power to councils without first rebuilding independent audit, potentially by expanding the National Audit Office's remit, is a recipe for disaster, not decentralisation.
Take a look at the poll below: youtube.com/post/Ugkx1PX6S-k9RYE31Aoxv6h2f0vj9IqeXZzS
00:00 Why Devolution Needs Better Audit
01:15 Why Independent Audit Matters
02:28 The Collapse of Local Government Audit
03:45 Why Privatisation Failed
05:05 The Scale of the Audit Backlog
06:22 Why Reliable Accounts Matter
07:38 Birmingham, Woking, Thurrock and Croydon
09:05 Why Timely Audit Prevents Crises
10:05 Fix Audit Before Devolution
11:00 Rebuilding Public Accountability
TRANSCRIPT
A transcript for this video is available at: taxresearch.org.uk
IF YOU WANT TO WRITE TO YOUR MP ABOUT ISSUES IN THIS VIDEO
If you want to write a letter to your MP on the issues raised in this blog post, there is a ChatGPT prompt to assist you in doing so, with full instructions, here. taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2025/06/20/chatgpt-prompt-for-a-letter-to-your-mp
HOW TO SUPPORT US
Please consider donating: ko-fi.com/taxresearch
ABOUT RICHARD MURPHY
Richard Murphy is Emeritus Professor of Accounting Practice at Sheffield University Management School. He is director of Tax Research LLP and the author of the Funding the Future blog. His best-known book is ‘The Joy of Tax’.
This video was edited by Thomas Murphy.
RICHARD MURPHY ON BLUESKY:
https://bsky.app/profile/richardjmurphy.bsky.social
OR
ON MY BLOG: taxresearch.org.uk/Blog
HIT SUBSCRIBE & GET NOTIFICATIONS
Subscribe and get notified of new videos released.
INTRODUCTION: youtube.com/watch?v=HdHsRPy3060
PLAYLISTS:
The Wealth Series
youtube.com/playlist?list=PLvRueM6wBgobQLeyZYAagFDMjEFTKbhRD
Ecenomics
youtube.com/playlist?list=PLvRueM6wBgob54Gs-fOL-8OAQ-IpduwB4
Britain
youtube.com/playlist?list=PLvRueM6wBgobwTT4ATvJjsf8OO6S7wD10
Tax
youtube.com/playlist?list=PLvRueM6wBgoaMni_12J6ULp3yUJisUZoY
MMT
youtube.com/playlist?list=PLvRueM6wBgoZ6jvRGSW5YXu8qogE6aClX
Money
youtube.com/playlist?list=PLvRueM6wBgoYnLk1c7syTvoIo8bKYUs5m
Climate Change
youtube.com/playlist?list=PLvRueM6wBgob4_wsYaVivWd2WumpPLYwJ
USA
youtube.com/playlist?list=PLvRueM6wBgoYYd3dSyU2Oyl3x7bWJOP7H
Labour
youtube.com/playlist?list=PLvRueM6wBgoa-KhzG-fnjDSg1WROL1zMw
The Trump Administration
youtube.com/playlist?list=PLvRueM6wBgobz41-GLimTho27A3flVWQx
#richardmurphy #richardjmurphy #economy #economics #accountancy #accounting #tax #uktax #ukeconomy #greennewdeal #uk #money #economy #politics #government #tax #labour #health #life #LocalGovernment #Audit #Devolution #PublicFinance #NationalAuditOffice #LocalAuthorities #UKPolitics #PublicAccountability #Accounting #Taxation #Democracy #PublicServices #FinancialGovernance #PoliticalEconomy #AndyBurnham #England #Economics #RichardMurphy #EconomicsOfHope #ValueForMoney
