In solidarity with Ukraine
On 24 February, it will be the first anniversary of the seminal event of the past 12 months – President Putin’s illegal invasion of Ukraine.
group leaders
Time to transfer power out of Whitehall
After being delayed by months of Tory chaos, the second phase of levelling up funding has finally been announced.
The levelling-up agenda is flawed
It’s very rarely that I find myself agreeing with leading Conservatives, but I couldn’t agree more with West Midlands Mayor Andy Street in calling for the ‘begging bowl’ culture that forces areas to bid against each other for vital government funds to end.
A growing Independent voice
The movement towards Independent and smaller parties is rising to take on the huge challenge of recovering confidence and trust in democracy.
A positive finance settlement
I would like to take this opportunity to wish all first readers a belated happy new year, and I hope that you had an enjoyable and restful festive break.
The right powers to the right places
Everyone in local government knows people are hungry for more power over their own lives and more control over the places they live.
Long-term funding kicked into the grass
Days before Christmas, the Government published its provisional local government finance settlement, setting out the details about local government spending in the coming financial year.
Lack of sustainable funding continues
While the local government finance settlement might pull some of our councils back from the brink, we shouldn’t kid ourselves that it puts us on a sustainable footing to meet the needs of our communities or our environment.
Time for a period of political stability
This is my last first column of 2022, and it is fair to say that in terms of both domestic and international events it has been an extremely busy and turbulent year.
Twelve years of economic failure
Just 55 days after the disastrous mini-budget, Chancellor Jeremy Hunt delivered his Autumn Statement, which confirmed that working people will pay the price of Tory incompetence.