The Local Government Finance Settlement delivered more shock therapy for the big cities of the North and Midlands. There’s little Christmas comfort for England’s most deprived areas
David Cameron’s war on planning regulations won’t promote economic growth, undermines localism and risks alienating many in his own party Read more
The Heseltine review proposes government intervention to stimulate regional economic growth. But it’s likely to be blocked by London-centric politicians Read more
It’s a bit rich for the prime minister and chancellor to blame the planning system for the lack of new homes when they were the ones who scrapped all the housing targets Read more
It’s wrong to counterpose localism to statism. Both are needed to ensure a truly effective planning system Read more
Forget ‘community plans’, it is big business that is set to gain from the weakening of local government’s planning role Read more
Senior Liberal Democrat councillors attacking the government’s financial onslaught on town halls should come as no surprise. Interviewing David Faulkner, LibDem leader of Newcastle City Council for last month’s Public Finance, it was quite clear that he was not only aghast at Eric Pickles’ onslaught on town halls, but close to rebellion. Ditto many others. And the subsequent limp and laboured defence of the coalition from a LibDem local government minister, Andrew Stunnell (a former senior councillor in both Cheshire and Stockport) will only add fuel to the looming revolt. Read more...
Sometimes a bald statement, born out of prejudice, misinformation or a scant reading of statistics and repeated frequently, becomes a ‘truth’, universally acknowledged and uncontestable. Read more...
Politicians of the right have never been entirely happy with regional policy in England since the Butskellite consensus of the 50s and early 60s, when governments of red and blue dished out vast sums to deliver new industries to the north and Scotland: car plants to Merseyside, and Clydeside, steel works to South Wales and Lanarkshire, and so on. Read more...
The major parties promise more local power, but what they mean is devolution to the community, not councils. Either way, the localism debate has been reignited Read more...
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