Archive for Local government
Hundreds of tales of heartbreak and two numbers
The story of May’s election results is not one that can simply be told with numbers. There are too many tales of personal effort and loss for statistics to do justice to the crushing disappointment suffered by many who had worked hard for so long in hundreds of communities across the country. Nor do statistics [...]
Learning the lessons from last week #4: The party’s local government base matters
Broadly speaking, the party’s local government base is now back to where it was in 1993. As I put it: For those who joined the Liberal Democrats in the last 18 months, and may not yet even have been in school in 1993, that may well seem a long time away and a big step [...]
Political genius at work in Derby
Ringing up a radio phone-in and giving a fake name may not be a smart move. Doing so if you are a candidate in the forthcoming local elections is even less smart. Doing so from a phone number recognisable as yourself is most certainly not smart. Sticking to your fake name on the radio and [...]
Devolving power to local government: the record in government
Party conference in Sheffield saw the publication of Delivering Localism, a pamphlet from the Liberal Democrat Local Government Association Group which lays out the detailed policies being enacted by government to free up local councils and give them more power. It’s very reliant on long lists of bullet points at times but it has some [...]
Should local councils still have to run long, wordy adverts in local newspapers?
It’s very common to see local councils advertising in local newspapers, and they are often one of the main sources of advertising revenue for the local press. That can cause conflicts over whether there is improper influence at work and also over whether councils should shift money elsewhere, risking plunging the local press into enforced [...]
Councillor sacked, councillor arrives, councillor departs
A trio of local council news: Andrew Reeves reports on the sacking of a Scottish Labour councillor William O’Rourke over his comments about rape (and credit to Labour, they looked to have moved much more quickly and firmly than the Conservatives did in the recent similar case of Bill Aitken) Horsham Conservative councillor Keith Shepherd [...]
When is a financial interest not a financial interest?
Curious news from Labour-run Haringey Council, where Labour’s round of budget cuts has come under fire for the smoke and mirrors behind the headline claims. One of the proposed Liberal Democrat amendments was to cut the amount of financial support the Haringey Council currently gives to trade unions by paying the salaries of union organisers. [...]
Good news for local government as capitalisation budget increased by half
There was some good news for local government yesterday with the announcement that the capitalisation budget is being increased from £200m to £300m for 2011-12. Since the £200m figure was set in autumn spending settlement, Liberal Democrats in local government and also ministers such as Danny Alexander and Andrew Stunell have been pushing hard for [...]
Eric Pickles gets it right
Not quite what Liberal Democrats always says about Local Government Secretary Eric Pickles, but his pronouncement this week about access to local government meetings was spot on. His department’s press release says, Councils should open up their public meetings to local news ‘bloggers’ and routinely allow online filming of public discussions as part of increasing [...]
Violent attack on teenager makes him stand for local council
This is Gloucestershire reports: WHEN teenager Joe Harris was viciously mugged by a hooded gang he elected to take on the establishment. The 17-year-old was battered to the ground and threatened with death in a Cirencester alley. So he personally challenged Cotswold District Council to accept there was a problem with “random violent attacks” in [...]
