Local democracy
Eight out of ten people think elections are well run
Eight out of ten people believe elections are well run and free from fraud, according to research by the Electoral Commission.
Trumpeting Parmo’s virtues
The election of Donald Trump as US president has ripped up all the established rules about leadership.
Mayor intervenes as auditors probe LEP
The Greater Cambridge and Greater Peterborough Local Enterprise Partnership (GCGPLEP) is causing the area ‘reputational damage,’ the region’s mayor has warned.
Councillors attack planning reforms
Scottish Government proposals to overhaul the planning system would erode the local democratic process and fail to achieve their objectives,’ Aberdeenshire councillors have said.
Councils must be mindful of the dangers of rewriting history
Claire Fox explains why demanding the past conforms to our present-day beliefs and putting forward a version of history that can be manipulated to suit the present is so perilous.
The Uber decision could hit Labour’s 2018 London borough election hopes
TfL's decision not to renew Uber's licence, backed by the capital's Labour mayor, could have an impact on the London borough elections next year, argues Michael Burton.
Blurring of responsibilities could undermine growth
Combined authorities must work with local enterprise partnerships (LEPs) to overcome the ‘institutional blurring’ of responsibilities that threaten to undermine growth prospects, experts have warned.
The true voice of the councillor
Rachel Wall and Colin Copus summarise the findings of a large-scale study of the challenges and ever-evolving tasks facing councillors today.rachel
Regardless of leadership style, being human is essential
Following the leadership response to the Grenfell tragedy, Julie Towers says the human touch is an underestimated trait and yet is the most powerful.
Javid: Sector must rebuild public trust
Councils have been warned they are facing a ‘looming crisis in confidence’ in the wake of the Grenfell Tower fire by communities secretary Sajid Javid.
Watering the seed of a stronger local democracy
The recommendations in the Kirklees Democracy Commission could help shape how both local and national democracy could develop over the next decade, writes Carl Whistlecraft.
Brokering constructive conversations
Co-production and engaging with residents can help implement new models of care, at a time when the issues are at their most ‘wicked’, writes Ewan King.
Community capacity and the role of the state
Most council transformation plans feature a section on ‘community capacity building,’ but what does that mean and how should it be done? Graham Duxbury explains
‘There is more that unites us than divides us’
Echoing the words of the late Jo Cox MP, Bob Neill argues a cross-party, cross-government approach in Whitehall and town halls can help solve some of the country’s most complex challenges.
Government rejects call for intervention in tower blaze council
The Government has rejected calls for commissioners to run Kensington & Chelsea RLBC after it was blamed for mishandling the response to the Grenfell Tower fire.
Lower-tier councils pull out of Sheffield devolution deal
Bassetlaw DC has become the second lower-tier council to back away from participation in the Sheffield city region’s devolution bid.
A manifesto for local government
Professor Colin Copus thrashes out his own ‘manifesto for local government’ after seeing the low key focus on the sector given by the big political parties in their election statements.
Building trust in a post-truth age
Local government must lead the way in a new world where truth is no longer the gold standard, writes Dr Jonathan Carr-West
The beating heart of politics now rests in the suburbs and shires
In spite of the urban centres growing in population, we will see a transfer of political representation from the towns to the shires on an unprecedented scale from 2018 onwards, claims Paul Wheeler.
We have to marry our numbers and our words correctly
Getting the narrative right on our annual finances, as well as the potential future impact, is more important than ever, writes Adele Taylor.