Scotland’s local government is facing the prospect of its biggest shake-up in decades.

John Swinney’s SNP government has proposed replacing the country’s 32 councils with as few as six regional authorities, supported by more than 150 community authorities.

The plans would separate big strategic decisions from the everyday needs of local communities.

Regional authorities would oversee major services such as education and economic development, while smaller bodies would have greater scope to shape the places they serve.

It is hardly surprising that councillors have reacted with hostility.

Fife Council leader David Ross has grandly pledged that everyone in Fife will “vigorously oppose” any merger.

That is a bolder claim about the views of Fifers on the performance of his local authority than I would be willing to make.

There are legitimate questions about how reorganisation would work.

Councils have endured years of financial pressure, while local decision-making has been steadily eroded.

New layers of government will not solve those problems.

But the failures of the existing system should not be used to dismiss the potential of reform.

Fife offers a compelling case for looking again at how local government works.

With........

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