Greater Manchester this week becomes the first combined metro area to have its own mayor. Professor Francesca Gains looks ahead at what awaits Tony Lloyd. Arrangements to deliver an elected metro mayor for Greater Manchester take several significant steps forward this week. In the House of Lords, the Cities and Local Government Devolution Bill moves […]
Is the local government party really now over?
After crying ‘wolf’ for several years, councils are now faced with very real difficulty in balancing their books, warns Nick Clifford. More than 50 years ago, in 1962, there was a hit for Lonnie Donegan called ‘The Party’s Over’. 40 years ago Tony Crosland, then Secretary of State for Local Government, gave a speech to […]
Paying for retirement – the phrase politicians are afraid to say
The starting gun for the General Election has been fired, with less than 100 days to go before we vote. But, asks John Read, will the parties have the courage to discuss how future governments will pay for workers’ retirement? Financing the state pensions of the next generation of retired workers is a key challenge […]