Labour
Sunak faces his countdown
Duncan Flynn says the clock is ticking very loudly for Rishi Sunak and he’s struggling to find the words needed to connect with a sceptical electorate.
Can mayoral polls help Tories buck their losing trend?
Jonathan Werran picks out the highlights from the local and mayoral poll results so far, and he argues the case for a more stable set of electoral cycles.
Are the grown-ups in the room?
Labour’s alternative to levelling up could mark a step change to a more mature relationship between the centre and our regions, say Annabel Smith and Ben Franklin.
What next for unitarisation?
Ahead of the Mayoral elections, Steve Leach and Colin Copus ask if the proliferation of combined authorities has snookered the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities’ unitary authorities policy.
Delicate decisions
Three myths are holding back Labour’s growth plans, but there are ways to increase investment without wrecking the balance sheet, says Cllr Graham Chapman.
41st time lucky?
After four decades of different initiatives which have failed to boost growth, Professor Martin Jones considers what needs to change to bring success.
Making strategic spatial planning successful
In Localis’s new essay collection, Catriona Riddell looks at developing agreement on housing supply: aligning community engagement and strategic spatial planning.
Labour’s local vision for growth
Adam Fineberg says Labour’s new localist Industrial Strategy is a manifesto aimed at reaping the benefits of more widely distributed growth across the country.
Parties draw battlelines for local elections
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has given a speech in Dudley today following campaign launches by the Conservatives and Lib Dems.
Growth key to devolution ambitions
Nathan Yeowell told The MJ’s Future Forum that aligning devolution with the aims of fostering economic growth would be key should Labour assume power following the General Election.
Rayner to go ‘further and faster’ on devolution
Shadow local government secretary Angela Rayner has promised to go ‘further and faster’ on devolution if elected to Government.
General Election manifestos begin to take shape
Labour is gearing up for the looming General Election by beginning work on its manifesto.
No promise of extra funding from Rayner
Shadow levelling up secretary Angela Rayner has avoided committing Labour to providing local government with additional funding if the party wins the impending General Election.
Shadow minister backs Total Place return
Labour’s shadow local government minister has suggested a return to Total Place to tackle local government’s financial pressures.
Labour must 'grasp the nettle' early on social care costs
Labour will ‘have to grasp the nettle fairly early on’ if it wins the General Election about the long-term funding of social care, shadow minister Andrew Gwynne has said.
Predictable shock stories...but where is the vision?
Birmingham's s114 notice was expected but that didn't make it less eye-popping, says Heather Jameson. Angela Rayner's appointment as the new shadow secretary of state was also unsurprising. 'But the big question will be: what is her vision for local government?'
Sharing the spoils
As more English councils tackle the rising tide of no overall control, Paul Marinko looks at the lessons they could learn from Northern Ireland
Questions over council land purchase proposals
Labour's proposed legislation would allow councils to buy land at agricultural values using compulsory purchase orders.
New leader for Brum after Labour ousts Ward
The national Labour Party has selected John Cotton as the new leader of Birmingham City Council's Labour group after an intervention.
Spending on funding bids tops £130m
More than £130m has been spent on bidding for local government funding pots, new research has uncovered.
