A senior London councillor launched a passionate defence of the state’s life-changing role yesterday in a dossier backing the return of key powers to local authorities.

Islington’s James Murray mounted a sweeping attack on Tory policies designed to “permanently” limit democratic bodies’ ability to make people’s lives better.

Branding the Con-Dem austerity drive “a broad attack on the future of the state,” he set out an agenda designed to bring power closer to communities.

Demands in a new paper for left-leaning think tank Class include new powers to borrow to build homes, tackle low pay, bring services back in-house and regulate private landlords.

Some councils have “defiantly shown” what can be achieved in these areas despite Tory attacks, Mr Murray added.

But he also rejected Blairite arguments for “citizen choice and autonomy” and market mechanisms that lead to “fragmentation and a lack of accountability.”

Councils can “ensure the collective provision of services that contribute to people’s wellbeing that will never be adequately offered by the private or even the voluntary sector,” he said.