National and Devolved Politics

Developer in £13m legal wrangle with Northumberland now plans to take council to High Court

17.08.18: A property developer who launched a £13m legal bid against Northumberland County Council says it has been banned from sharing vital information with council members. Newcastle-based Lugano Group was due to build the Dissington Garden...

Northamptonshire report to propose splitting region into two unitaries

17.08.18: A report on the future of the debt-ridden Northamptonshire region due to be published this afternoon will likely recommend replacing all eight local authorities with two unitary councils. Public consultation results and the report itself wi...

Council forced to apologise after telling ‘intimidating’ football fans they were unwelcome

16.08.18: A Lancashire council has apologised after sending a letter that stated football fans “will no longer be welcome” in the town centre for daytime matches. In a letter sent to Sheffield United FC this week, Chorley Council said foo...

Northamptonshire to sell education centre ahead of plans for unitary council shake-up

16.08.18: Northamptonshire County Council’s cabinet has agreed to sell its Longtown Outdoor Education Centre in an attempt to tackle a £70m budget shortfall, just a day before a report on the future governance of the council is due to be publi...

Council halts non-urgent spending in bid to tackle ‘significant financial challenges’

16.08.18: Torbay Council has announced an immediate moratorium on spending as it tries to deal with financial trouble and a predicted £2.8m overspend at the end of March next year.  The council-- which is controlled under the elected mayor...

Councillor who described homosexuality as ‘immoral and wrong’ is suspended

15.08.18: A Monmouthshire county councillor has been suspended for claiming that homosexuality is “unnatural, perverted, immoral and wrong.” Cllr Graham Down, an independent councillor for the Shirenewton ward, made the comments in emails...

‘Unlawful’ Northamptonshire council plans to close libraries blocked by High Court

15.08.18: The insolvent Northamptonshire County Council’s attempts to make cuts to 21 libraries in the region have been halted by the High Court. When the local authority decided to go ahead with radical service and job cuts last week, librarie...

Fight against Dorset merger ends as Christchurch council accepts defeat

14.08.18: Christchurch Borough Council has agreed not to take its legal fight to the Court of Appeal following the refusal of its Judicial Review application, with leader Cllr David Flagg apologising for the authority’s unsuccessful battle. The...

Don’t horse around! Council finds new home for house-bound pony

13.08.18: A council that took four years in a legal wrangle to remove a pony from an Isle of Lewis house may have found the four-legged beast a new home. Western Isles council removed Grey Lady Too – a Connemara pony that was taken into the hom...

Somerset rejects rumours of staff taking unpaid leave to help cut costs, but plans in the works

13.08.18: Rumours that Somerset County Council staff could be asked to take two days of unpaid leave to prevent costs from rising even further have been rejected by the local authority— though councillors have said they are in “dialogue with u...

Council mergers: little gain, less democratic

13.08.18: Dr Linze Schaap, associate professor at the Tilburg Centre for Regional Law and Governance, and Dr Niels Karsten, assistant professor at the Tilburg Institute of Governance, provide evidence from abroad to justify why larger authorities are not...

Council’s ‘risky and shrouded in secrecy’ £21m mall buy-out criticised by opposition

13.08.18: The acquisition of a £21m shopping centre by a Somerset council has been blasted by opposition council members who claim the deal was “shrouded” in secrecy. North Somerset Council’s buy-out of Weston-super-Mare&rsquo...

Six new local government citizens’ jury pilots headline Whitehall’s Civil Society Strategy

10.08.18: UK citizens will soon be able to have a say in local government decisions as the government launches its ‘Innovation in Democracy’ pilot scheme as part of its new Civil Society Strategy. Users of the pilot in six regions across...

Lancashire CC finances at ‘tipping point’ as auditors predict national drop in cash reserves

10.08.18: Reserves at Lancashire County Council (LCC) are forecast to drop amid ongoing and widespread financial challenges, with almost 200 local authorities in England predicting a net decrease in reserves in the coming year. Lancashire is in the t...

Financial details of 6,000 London residents at risk after council cyber-attack

10.08.18: Around 6,000 people have had their financial details put at risk after Lewisham Council’s IT system was hacked. In a statement, Ian Thomas, chief executive of Lewisham, said the council “sincerely regrets” how the portal u...