And then there were two…. After a dramatic week last week (followed by a tumultuous weekend) we now know which of two men will become Prime Minister at the end of July. This is about as close as things get to certainty in British politics right now, writes Jonathan Carr-West.
One of the features of contemporary politics is the speed with which things move, writes Jonathan Carr West. In the last few weeks we have seen local elections in which the Conservatives lost over 1,000 seats; European elections in which the largest vote share was won by a party that barely existed when that column…
It’s a bad time to talk about Brexit, but it is also a terrible time not to talk about Brexit, writes Jonathan Carr-West.
The government is being devoured by the Brexit monster. Meanwhile the other priorities - social care, housing, local government funding to name but a few - that a functioning executive should be addressing urgently are untouched and becoming more critical by the day, writes Jonathan Carr-West.
2019 was supposed to be the year that we start to get some visibility on the way forward on some of our most intractable challenges but is that likely in a year that already looks to be consumed by Brexit, asks Jonathan Carr-West.
Does it matter if local government fails? Well obviously at LGiU we think it does, writes Jonathan Carr-West. But, why?
With limited fanfare, DCMS today launched the government’s latest civil society strategy proudly described as the first new such strategy in 15 years. Key features include a £165 million fund to support community organisations, a new Innovation in Democracy programme to pilot participatory democracy techniques such as citizens’ juries, more emphasis on public sector mutuals,…
Things lurch from bad to worse in Northamptonshire. Following the issue of a second section 114 notice and a scathing letter to councillors from the Finance Director condemning years of financial mismanagement that have left the council on the brink of collapse and needing to find another £60 – 70 million saving this year. The…
Jonathan Carr West’s latest column in The Municipal Journal.
So farewell Sajid and welcome James Brokenshire as Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government. With local elections on Thursday, it’s an action packed week to be landing in the sector. Depending on how things pan out on Thursday that could be more or less challenging. But in any case, Mr Brokenshire will…