INFRASTRUCTURE

Forging consensus around tough transitions must be done locally

With the role of London's ULEZ in the Uxbridge by-election in the spotlight, Jessica Studdert says underfunded councils need 'skills and resource to enable more proactive engagement, deliberation and better forge consensus around trade-offs'.

According to American political lore, ‘all politics is local'. The phrase has less resonance in our more centralised context, where there is little focus on what happens outside the Westminster bubble.

But if we are to tackle many of the toughest, most politicised challenges of our era, forging consensus and solutions locally will be essential. This is where many pitched battles in the wider culture war are happening, with increasing acrimony.

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