Local government leaders from across the West Midlands are urging Gordon Brown to give town halls a fresh start by freeing councils from a mountain of Whitehall controls and red tape.
Representatives from 38 local authorities told the Prime Minister that he could trust councils to behave responsibly, stick to national spending guidelines and deliver value for money.
Launching a policy document - West Midlands The Bigger Picture - representatives from all the main political parties called on the Government to restore local decision-making powers, particularly for economic development, skills and social cohesion.
David Smith, the leader of Lichfield District Council and chairman of the West Midlands Local Government Association, said: "The message we are driving home is that local government is a mature and responsible organisation that is perfectly capable of taking on the responsibility to deliver services.
"Across all of our councils we have superb, dedicated, elected members together with officers that know what our communities expect from us - we are with them every day. Will the Government set clear objectives, a time frame for delivery and properly fund what we need to do and then leave us to deliver in a way that is most appropriate to us?
"We should be saying to all of our leaders in Westminster 'trust us to deliver'."
The document was launched at the start of the annual meeting of the Local Government Association at the ICC in Birmingham.
It backs recommendations in the Lyons Review, compiled by the former chief executive of Birmingham City Council, for a new relationship between central and local government built on mutual trust and confidence.
"We believe this should spell out what is genuinely national and what is best done locally, making it clear that local government collectively will be at the heart of any subnational decision making and setting out who does what, how much it will cost and who pays," the document added.
Coun Smith (Con Stonnal) said the planned £550 million redevelopment of New Street Station was an obvious example where the requirement for local authorities to seek funding from several different Government agencies had prevented the project from getting under way.
The seven West Midlands metropolitan authorities, including Birmingham, are campaigning for city region status with additional powers to control economic development, skills, planning, housing and culture.
Coun Smith added: "Local government in the West Midlands believes in this region and the leadership councils provide to move us forward. We believe we can help Government meet its priorities. Being closer to our communities we are better placed to make the critical local and sub-national decisions. We want to and can do more. If Government gives us the tools we will deliver the results."
Olwen Dutton, chief executive of the WMLA, said: "This is about the ambition that the councils across the West Midlands have to develop and lead the agenda. There are common issues for all authorities in the region and the statement emphasises the common interest and ambition the councils have."
