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John Stewart

Articles by John Stewart

The centre will always hold

By John Stewart | 25 October 2011

Anyone expecting a new ‘golden age’ of local government should remember the Government knows of n...

Some unanswered questions

By John Stewart | 20 September 2011

George Jones and John Stewart suggest there will be major conflicts unless the Government clearly...

Shadowy figures

By John Stewart | 08 June 2011

Government plans to impose mayoral referendums have not been thought out properly, say George Jon...

Don't ditch the back office

By John Stewart | 20 May 2011

Not all bureaucracy is bad. Really effective public services depend on efficient back-room staff,...

Missing the big picture

By John Stewart | 20 May 2011

George Jones and John Stewart find the latest review of council finance is too narrowly focused.

Qualified votes challenge local democracy

By John Stewart | 12 April 2011

MPs should take a closer look at legislation which will hand powers to elected mayors and unelect...

High time for a statute of local rights

By John Stewart | 05 April 2011

A new constitutional settlement is needed to overcome the command and control attitudes of centra...

Why the commission lost its way

By John Stewart | 05 April 2011

Following David Walker’s article last week, George Jones and John Stewart argue that the Audit Co...

So much for the Centralism Bill's aims

By John Stewart | 21 January 2011

Despite its name, centralism reigns in the Localism Bill, with ministers believing local authorit...

A patchwork quilt

By John Stewart | 10 November 2010

The Government is still determined to impose directly-elected mayor models on the largest city au...