Tag: Local Government
How Private Members’ legislation improved local government social value
Chris Game assesses the efficacy of one of Parliament’s most antiquated procedures, the Private Members’ Bill, and finds that, though they have proliferated to little effect, in some notable cases, including local government procurement, they have instigated considerable reform.
The territorial politics of coronavirus: is this the hour of central government?
In times of crisis, central governments have often increased their power. Comparing the territorial arrangements of countries facing the first wave of the Covid-19 pandemic, Davide Vampa argues that centralising power would be misguided, and instead we should look to examples of successful coordination within multi-level forms of governance.
Assessing England’s metro-mayors: a mixed picture
Directly elected mayors for Combined Authorities have been introduced in a piecemeal fashion across England since 2017. Jane Roberts analyses how they have operated, and finds that there is considerable variation in their effectiveness, depending on local circumstances and individual leadership, but to understand these differences, better evaluation of their performance is needed.
England’s local elections 2019: Part 2 – Rainbow and other coalitions
In the second of two articles reporting the outcomes of May’s local elections, Chris Game looks in detail at how a high number of multi-party ‘Rainbow’ coalitions have been agreed, and highlights how, behind certain patterns of participation, there are numerous varieties of governing pacts – which, perhaps, Westminster politicians could learn from.
Local elections 2019: Uncontested seats mean thousands of voters will be denied their democratic rights
Uncontested and under-contested council seats in English local elections mean that in areas where one party dominates, many voters face little or no choice about who their councillors are. Ian Simpson from the Electoral Reform Society argues that the solution to this democratic deficit is to reform the electoral system.
How to maintain high ethical standards in local government: a perspective on the Committee on Standards in Public Life’s review so far
Colin Copus offers his perspective on some of the evidence heard so far by the Committee on Standards in Public Life’s review into ethical standards in local government. He argues that it is a difficult task to balance the issues at stake in refining the current system. There are also important arguments surrounding whether or not to nationalise or localise standards in local government. But the work of the Committee is vital if we are to maintain high standards of ethical behaviour in local government.
Constitutional change in local government: council backbench committees have the potential to enhance overview and scrutiny
The Wright reforms of the House of Commons’ select committees increased the effectiveness of parliamentary scrutiny in Westminster. Andrew Coulson (Institute of Local Government Studies, University of Birmingham) assesses whether the proposed Betts reforms to local authority oversight and scrutiny committees could do the same for local government.
A mess of pottage? The North of Tyne deal and the travails of devolution
John Tomaney (University College London) focuses on the proposed deal between government and the North of Tyne area. He explains why it fails to meet the government’s own definition of appropriate devolution arrangements, and why local government leaders have nonetheless accepted it.
Grenfell’s lessons for democracy: listen to our podcast
On 12 October the author Lynsey Hanley, Conservative London Assembly Member Shaun Bailey, Prof Colin Copus, Prof Patrick Dunleavy and campaigner Clare Coatman launched our 2017 Audit of UK Democracy at the LSE with a discussion of the Grenfell Tower fire. What lessons does the disaster hold for the way local government functions, for regulation […]
Audit 2017: How democratic is local government in Wales?
Within Wales, the local councils provide the main focus for democratic politics below the devolved government in Cardiff, and organise the provision of most local services. As part of our 2017 Audit of UK Democracy, James Downe looks at how well they fulfil their roles. A statue in Blaenau Gwent commemorates the Six Bells mining disaster […]
Democratic Audit's core funding is provided by the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust. Additional funding is provided by the London School of Economics.