THE best governments have a balance of feet on the ground and heads in the clouds. By that I mean a mixture of realism and aspiration. As Scottish politics builds towards the publication of election manifestos, both will be needed to unpick the complicated arrangements of local authority finances.

Yesterday saw the publication of the boldly titled Just Change: A New Approach To Local Taxation, the result of months of cross-party exertion. It marks a significant signpost in moves to reform the council tax with a progressive alternative. Excited? I think you should be. Councils, often unloved, present one area of public life that can be improved without blaming the constraints of Westminster. It is down to us. Our strength. Our political will. Our desire for a more equal tax system.

Now there is a consensus. The SNP, Labour, Liberal Democrats and Scottish Greens are all signed up to a report which states that “the present council tax system must end”. The alternatives – council tax reform, a local income tax, a home-valuation tax or a land-value tax – have been examined and present credible tax plans. It is commendable that the parties have overcome partisanship to agree on a basis foundation of research and progressive intent. Some recommendations may be vague –there is no rubber-stamped alternative or proposal on what level a new tax would be – but it is an important step.

The council tax is one area that has lain in the doldrums of political inaction for too long. More than 20 years ago Scotland was lumbered with the mutation of the poll tax. At the dawn of devolution, little was done to reform it. Then, in the face of opposition, the SNP dropped its plan for local income tax.

Now, hopefully, in upcoming manifestos the issue can no longer be dodged or delayed. The sticking plaster of a freeze in a regressive tax system will no longer hold as vital service budgets are squeezed ever tighter. As the report itself concludes: “This is an opportunity that must not be missed.”

There are many missed opportunities to correct at the 2016 election. The Land Reform Review Group’s 62 recommendations require future legislation. The Commission On Strengthening Local Democracy proposed a wider reform of centralised councils. The independent report A Living Rent For Scotland’s Private Tenants requires far more action than the current Private Tenancies (Housing) Bill.

Sometimes watching the structures of devolved government is like watching the treacle of reform roll slowly down a hill. At least there can be some satisfaction – for instance, on interest in land taxation – that the treacle is going in the right direction.

Manifestos, especially for the SNP as government in waiting, should be judged on their practical impact on the economy and inequality. It is the sturdy and material changes of policy that will matter most when the excitement of constitutional dreaming has been cut out, at least for now.

For me, examples of this include the hundreds of thousands of acres transferred to community ownership since the parliament was reconvened. It means the explosion in renewable energy production as wind farms rose on the hillsides. It means the plunge in west-coast gang violence and murders.

These are some of the greatest practical achievements since the Scottish parliament was established, based on ambitious policy around land reform, renewables support and crime prevention. Each policy – in its own way – represents a transfer of power and wealth in practice and not just in theory.

The importance of delivering a new progressive alternative to the council tax are numerous: proof of Scotland’s ability to improve tax systems, to reduce inequality and to decentralise power. No longer will these just be examples of aspirational rhetoric, but a day-to-day example of how life can change for the better.

That transition is unlikely to be easy and poses the political challenge of persuading the richest to contribute a fair amount to finance local services. This will require compromises and finance modelling to prevent the failures of Margaret Thatcher’s poll tax – for instance by protecting pensioners who are asset rich but income poor.

But ultimately, at a point where the SNP have never been more powerful or popular, they must be bold in reforming failing Scottish institutions. When I walk down High Street in Glasgow I see the lights of the Blue Chair Cafe that campaigners kept alight. If you walk through the Renfrewshire village of Kilbarchan you will see a new cairn dedicated to heroine Mary Barbour. If you attend the University of Glasgow you can see a newly unveiled plaque dedicated to Isabella Elder.

Words matter – but the material impact of a new progressive tax system will outlive any political rhetoric.

Council tax freeze must end, says cross-party commission proposing options for a fairer system