Alex Walker
@alwalker.bsky.social
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Senior Researcher
@re-state.bsky.social
Interests include devolution, governance, democracy, trust
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Alex Walker
Andy Westwood
5 days ago
This is really good - Henry Kippin on how to do good place based policy. Feels like the right mix to me.
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Re:State
6 days ago
We are pleased to be working with the North East, East Midlands, Greater Manchester, West Midlands and West Yorkshire Combined Authorities on this important work. āļø Read the launch essay from
@stkaye.bsky.social
&
@alwalker.bsky.social
:
restate.substack.com/p/where-shou...
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Where should devolution go next?
Why we're setting up the Devo Next Initiative to shape the future of English devolution policy
https://restate.substack.com/p/where-should-devolution-go-next
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Really excited about this! The English devolution agenda is making progress. But this should not represent the limit of ambition - which is why we're launching 'The Devo Next Initiative' today to define and shape the future of devolution policy.
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6 days ago
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Simon Kaye
6 days ago
So chuffed to announce this - and to get to work! This new initiative is a chance to define where we want devolution to go next, and where we want the whole agenda to take the country in the decades to come.
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Pete Miles
6 days ago
This looks like an excellent and much-needed initiative to shape where devolution goes next.
open.substack.com/pub/restate/...
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Where should devolution go next?
Why we're setting up the Devo Next Initiative to shape the future of English devolution policy
https://open.substack.com/pub/restate/p/where-should-devolution-go-next?utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=web
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Alex Walker
Re:State
6 days ago
"The English Devolution and Community Empowerment Act may open a new chapter for local places and people, but it cannot write it." š£ NEW: Today Re:State is launching The Devo Next Initiative to define and shape the future of devolution policy.
re-state.co.uk/devo-next-in...
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The Devo Next Initiative - Re:State
https://re-state.co.uk/devo-next-initiative/
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Alex Walker
Re:State
18 days ago
Dame
@meghillier.bsky.social
highlights the need for systemic change in how we regulate:
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Alex Walker
Re:State
18 days ago
šØNEW REPORT - The law of rulešØ Britainās regulatory system grows by default. Rules are easy to create, rarely reviewed, and almost never removed. This report sets out a package of reforms to achieve ābetter regulationā by strengthening the system at every stage.
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Really big devolution news! England is a major outlier when it comes to how fiscally centralised it is. Allowing Mayoral Strategic Authorities to retain a share of income tax generated in their area would be a major step forward, unlocking more autonomy and direct benefit from local growth.
19 days ago
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Mark Sandford
27 days ago
What's the point of a Local Public Accounts Committee? More bureaucracy, meetings, reports...? See some thoughts on the gaps that a body of this kind could fill at
www.lgcplus.com/politics/dev...
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Mark Sandford: Scrutinising the local state
A local public accounts committee model could examine how mayors are performing their stewardship roles, writes an honorary professor at the School for
https://www.lgcplus.com/politics/devolution-and-economic-growth/mark-sandford-scrutinising-the-local-state-09-03-2026/
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I've written this week's
@re-state.bsky.social
Re:View on the spring statement - which already feels like a long time ago. Have a read!
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about 1 month ago
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Alex Walker
Robert Saunders
about 1 month ago
Why did the People's Vote campaign fail? Could Brexit have been stopped? What lessons can be learned? Join us on 19 March to launch
@morganj0nes.bsky.social
's new book: "No Second Chances: The Inside Story of the Campaign for a Second Referendum". All welcome!
www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/no-second-...
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No Second Chances: The Inside Story of the Campaign for a Second Referendum
Join Mile End Institute to celebrate the publication of Morgan Jonesās new book about the campaign for a second EU referendum and its impact
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/no-second-chances-the-inside-story-of-the-campaign-for-a-second-referendum-tickets-1984366574843
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Alex Walker
David Klemperer
about 1 month ago
This is actually what I most wanted to highlight. I remember hearing a Labour MP argue that politics was ultimately just "a game of competitive storytelling", and then reflecting on just how disturbing the implications for democracy, accountability, and policymaking would be if that were wholly true
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David's piece is brilliant in highlighting the stakes involved in the "deliverism" debate - the potential implications for policymaking and democratic accountability are pretty profound (and this often seems underappreciated)
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about 1 month ago
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Alex Walker
Re:State
about 1 month ago
š£ NEW REPORT: 'The State of the State 2026: delivery that matters' in partnership with Deloitte, is out now! š It examines the key issues and opportunities facing public services, drawing on an exclusive Ipsos poll and over 100 interviews with public sector leaders.
re-state.co.uk/publications...
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The State of the State 2026 - Re:State
The 'State of the State', in partnership with Deloitte, explores the key issues and opportunities facing public services. The report is based on an exclusive Ipsos public poll, and over 100 interviews...
https://re-state.co.uk/publications/the-state-of-the-state-2026/
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Big new
@ukandeu.bsky.social
report on UK-EU alignment and divergence, which looks at the story so far and what lies ahead. I've written a chapter on the intersection with devolved powers and the implications for UK intergovernmental relations. Have a read!
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about 1 month ago
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Alex Walker
Joƫl Reland
about 1 month ago
Big new report out from us today looking at the state of UK-EU alignment and divergence. The key findings are that 1) the UK govt is turning to greater 'alignment' with EU rules as 'Brexit benefits' from divergence have been hard to come by. But 2) alignment is much easier said than done.
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There's an interesting question around whether deeper devolution can help alleviate some of this. But also needs to be coupled with better public understanding of who is responsible for what
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about 2 months ago
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Alice Lilly
about 2 months ago
Hmm. Secondary legislation is, of course, much quicker than primary legislation. Itās also unamendable and frankly subject to less robust scrutiny procedures than primary legislation.
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Alex Walker
Zoƫ Billingham
about 2 months ago
I think it's right that the May local elections will be going ahead, even in areas undergoing local government reorganisation. Democracy cannot be a matter of convenience or cost.
mhclgmedia.blog.gov.uk/2026/02/16/u...
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Update on May 2026 local authority elections
We have today issued the below statement for immediate use on the local authority elections taking place in May 2026. An MHCLG spokesperson said: āFollowing legal advice, the Government has withdrawn ...
https://mhclgmedia.blog.gov.uk/2026/02/16/update-on-may-2026-local-authority-elections/
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Alex Walker
Sam Freedman
about 2 months ago
New post out: We have a guest post today from the excellent
@dsquareddigest.bsky.social
. "Build the Rail! Save the snails!" Or how we don't need to sacrifice the environment to speed up our mad planning processes. (Free to read)
open.substack.com/pub/samf/p/b...
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Build the Rail! Save the Snails!
How to speed up the planning system without trashing the environment
https://open.substack.com/pub/samf/p/build-the-rail-save-the-snails?r=72szy&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true
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Alex Walker
Re:State
about 2 months ago
The Re:View is out! š This week, Director of Policy and Research,
@stkaye.bsky.social
unpacks the Governmentās latest move in the devolution agenda, as the MHCLG seeks to āfill in the mapā of England with a new wave of Strategic Authorities. šRead it here:
bit.ly/4auVwuB
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The Re:View 13 February 2026
āHousing need in England cannot be met without planning for growth on a larger than local scale.ā
https://bit.ly/4auVwuB
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Alex Walker
Pete Miles
about 2 months ago
"Perhaps the next 'grand theory' of public service reform will not come from the centre, but from the periphery."
@alwalker.bsky.social
writing for
@re-state.bsky.social
Yes, seems far more likely to me, as long as the centre allows enough flexibility.
open.substack.com/pub/restate/...
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My first Re:View is out - I look at Kent county council's struggle to find big spending cuts, what it says about the difficult work of public service reform, and whether the next āgrand theoryā of public management could come from the periphery rather than the centre.
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about 2 months ago
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Alex Walker
Duncan Weldon
about 2 months ago
The only way Labour can win the next election is by governing well. That might not be enough, but itās the bare minimum. The questions to be asking about any potential new PM are āwhat is their agenda and can they achieve it?ā Not ādo they currently poll well?ā Or ācan they handle a media round?ā
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The government announced today that the pride in place programme is being expanded to a further 40 neighbourhoods. I wrote something last year for
@bennettschool.cam.ac.uk
on the political appeal of the programme and what it's intended to achieve:
www.bennettschool.cam.ac.uk/blog/unpacki...
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Unpacking the pride in place programme - Bennett School of Public Policy
The government's new āpride in placeā strategy promises to empower communities to restore local spaces and revive high streets. The widened and rebranded regeneration scheme forms a key pillar of its ...
https://www.bennettschool.cam.ac.uk/blog/unpacking-the-pride-in-place-programme/
about 2 months ago
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Re:State
2 months ago
NEW REPORT - Capital at risk London is a global capital. But it doesn't have the governance to match. The Mayor is much less powerful than his international counterparts, with too many boroughs which hold too much influence. The city needs reboot. šš
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Re:State is on Substack! Must read first post from
@stkaye.bsky.social
featuring F. Scott Fitzgerald and the new white paper on police reform. Can the government square "From the local to national: a new model for policing" with the commitments it made in the devolution white paper?
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2 months ago
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Morgan Jones
2 months ago
Listen to me talking about my book (out now!) with an excellent panel:
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Latest Re:State 'meetings with mayors' is happening today! Sign up to hear Simon Kaye in convo with mayor of the v interesting North East Combined Authority, Kim McGuinness.
us06web.zoom.us/webinar/regi...
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Welcome! You are invited to join a webinar: In conversation with Mayor Kim McGuinness. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email about joining the webinar.
Directly elected Mayors, leading increasingly assertive Combined Authorities, are beginning to challenge Whitehallās monopoly on power in England. They are reshaping how local decisions are made, how ...
https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_j9-MfAx8SSOH9mgEN84lwQ#/registration
2 months ago
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Some job news - excited to share that I've started a new position as a Senior Researcher at
@re-state.bsky.social
! I'll be working on the fantastic 'Re:Imagining the Local State' programme, and thinking about the future of local government and devolution.
3 months ago
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Two good related pieces out today on civic renewal - one from James Plunkett on how to do it (what he calls 'communitarian statecraft'), and the other from Jack Shaw on improving the visible state of the public realm:
jackshaw.substack.com/p/a-politics...
samf.substack.com/p/power-to-t...
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Power to the People
How Labour can restore civic life and counter the "Britain is broken" narrative
https://samf.substack.com/p/power-to-the-people
3 months ago
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Alex Walker
Sam Freedman
3 months ago
This is why there's a whole chapter in my book about the damage the grid has done to policy making.
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Alex Walker
depths of wikipedia
3 months ago
wikipedia turns 25 today! the last unenshittified major website! backbone of online info! triumph of humanity! powered by urge of unpaid randos to correct each other! somehow mostly reliable! "good thing wikipedia works in practice, because it sure doesn't work in theory" - old wiki adage
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There'll be lots of attention on the campaigns in Scotland and Wales over the next few months, but it's worth also looking ahead to a potential situation in which the UK and devolved governments are all led by different parties, and what this might mean for intergovernmental relations and policy:
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3 months ago
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Alan Wager
3 months ago
As ever, worth reading JoĆ«l āreality over rhetoricā Reland.
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Sam Freedman
3 months ago
If you want a more strategic central state you have to devolve a lot more operational power. The more you try to control everything centrally the harder it gets.
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Alex Walker
Bennett School of Public Policy, University of Cambridge
3 months ago
In a new blog,
@alwalker.bsky.social
looks at Labourās record on intergovernmental relations so farāwhere there have been improvements, where cracks are showing, and why devolved elections next year could mean a more challenging political environment for devolution. Read:
bit.ly/4jbAR2r
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Dr Adam Evans
3 months ago
For
#devolution
anoraks/those with a passing interest in how this blessed realm is governed, this is an interesting piece by
@bennettschool.cam.ac.uk
@alwalker.bsky.social
of the current UK Govtās āresetā of intergovernmental relations & how IGR might be shaped by next yearās devolved elections
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UK intergovernmental relations under Labour: a fragile reset, with potential challenges ahead - Bennett School of Public Policy
As the prospect of nationalist First Ministers across the UKās devolved governments grows stronger, Alex Walker examines whether Labourās promised āresetā of intergovernmental relations can withstand ...
https://www.bennettschool.cam.ac.uk/blog/uk-intergovernmental-relations/
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Wrapping up for Christmas with a piece looking back at how the UK government has approached devolved relations since Labour took office, and looking ahead to 2026 and the upcoming elections in Scotland and Wales.
www.bennettschool.cam.ac.uk/blog/uk-inte...
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UK intergovernmental relations under Labour: a fragile reset, with potential challenges ahead - Bennett School of Public Policy
As the prospect of nationalist First Ministers across the UKās devolved governments grows stronger, Alex Walker examines whether Labourās promised āresetā of intergovernmental relations can withstand ...
https://www.bennettschool.cam.ac.uk/blog/uk-intergovernmental-relations/
3 months ago
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Interesting piece on the history of post-war place-based policy (which spells out some clear lessons for the government's pride in place programme)
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4 months ago
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Alex Walker
Bennett School of Public Policy, University of Cambridge
4 months ago
We're looking for a Professor of Public Policy to join our senior leadership team. They'll play a leading role in teaching on the School's postgraduate courses, & make a significant contribution to its research & research leadership. Apply by 9 February 2026:
www.cam.ac.uk/jobs/profess...
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Cath Haddon
4 months ago
Great new piece from
@akashpaun.bsky.social
on the decision to delay next yearās mayoral elections. āeven on the government's own terms⦠then the case for shifting these polls to 2027 is far stronger than delaying them until 2028ā
www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/comment/mayo...
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Mayoral elections in priority areas should be held in May 2027 at the very latest | Institute for Government
The government has not made a convincing case for postponement.
https://www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/comment/mayoral-elections-priority-areas-may-2027
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Can confirm this is an excellent role! You'll be joining a fantastic team at an exciting time and working on some really interesting stuff. Plenty of time to apply over the Christmas break!
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4 months ago
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Andy Westwood
4 months ago
If youāre involved in research impact, public engagement (in any form) then you really need to read this from
@dianecoyle1859.bsky.social
and
@michaelkenny.bsky.social
at
@bennettschool.cam.ac.uk
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
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How to get science back into policymaking
Misunderstanding and hubris have broken public trust in governmentsā use of science, but it can be restored.
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-025-03978-6
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Important piece on the challenges facing evidence-informed policy and how researchers and universities should respond (including acknowledging uncertainties and trade-offs, a wider understanding of what counts as evidence, and stronger connections between unis and local communities)
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4 months ago
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Dr Nick Dickinson
4 months ago
Excellent to see this from The Economist. We are slow walking into a constitutional crisis driven by the electoral system, and very few people are taking it seriously enough yet.
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Exciting new MPhil at the Bennett School - applications open!
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4 months ago
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John Denham
4 months ago
Really pleased to see a new commitment to place-based budgets today. Further progress towards the implementation of 'Total Place' principles as urged with
@jesstud.bsky.social
a couple of years ago.
www.newlocal.org.uk/publications...
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