Have been reading more this year. And trying to read books I might not normally reach for. Anyhow, these are the ones I’ve read in the last 6 months.

Looking through the wardrobe for something to wear today…

In the old days, this was the tie I used to wear to work to mark special occasions. You can imagine me wearing it today if you like…

Mornin’

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Agree with this and I found similar issues in my PhD research. I'm not really sure what the case is for elections by third. You wouldn't want it for national elections. Or would you?

A couple of these made me smile. Nothing so English as the seaside windbreak, marmite and paddington bear 😊

This really is the end of a fantastic era for @conunitucl.bsky.social - Meg Russell has led the Unit from strength to strength - brilliantly straddling the academic/practitioner landscapes - big shoes to fill (but glad to hear she will be continuing to contribute her expertise)!

My fact of the day is that because French communes are so small, 40% of all EU local government bodies are French communes.

At the @cfgs.bsky.social conference with scrutiny on the big screen 🍿🎬

NALC invites parish and town councillors to shape the future of the 21st-century councillor www.nalc.gov.uk/resource/nal...

Business travel tip here. I carry a couple of those wooden forks and spoons for supermarket takeaway meals and a decaf coffee sachet.

My first local government job was as a housing officer working out of the Townhill estate office. I learnt a lot! 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿

Twenty five years ago councils were implementing exec arrangements and overview and scrutiny as a result of the Local Government Act of 2000. But as @se13ed.bsky.social points out, the legislation was playing catch-up with innovative councils www.lgcplus.com/politics/gov...

Here is a fascinating document from the the late 1940s. It was produced for the County Council of the West Riding of Yorkshire by the Bureau of Current Affairs and is a digest of information and statistics about the Council. It picks up on a number of interesting themes... 🧵

I, for one, am a fan. More of these please 🚂

But what about Police and Crime Panels, I hear you say? (1/)

A movie you've seen more than 7 times with a gif.

21st Century Councillors event - check it out! www.cfgs.org.uk/21st-century...

Great project. Lovely that this article acknowledges the work in this space already done by @mapio.cymru and others

I've seen a couple of polls recently showing that public sector workers - or as Matt Goodwin has it, the new elite - have very different social attitudes to the rest of us. To which I say meh. Of course they do, and we should be very glad of it.

I’m at the National Tenant Scrutiny Conference. @louisemholt.bsky.social is doing the intro 💃🕺 #tpasconf25

I've discovered a new non-extreme, slow-sport that involves hunting down Ordnance Survey Benchmarks. It's like a laid back Pokémon Go I guess. I case you don't know, OSBs are marks or plates placed on buildings, walls etc to show the elevation above sea level. They often look like this...

Hello, today I'm heading to Belfast for the UKAPA conference tomorrow - all things public administration with a nice academic / practitioner mix. Do say hello if you are going. www.ukapa.org.uk/conference/u... #ukapa25 @ukapa-1918.bsky.social

"Questions at council" is something which has come up a few times recently in bits of work we've done for councils in England. Some thoughts... (1/)

Check out our featured case study of transition from committee to cabinet governance model, with a bountiful basket of top tips from #BrightonHoveCouncil. Essential reading for others looking to do this as it's packed with learning. #GovernanceChange #LocalGovScrutiny #ResidentFocused

🤔 What's the point of democratic innovation? Can it address crurrent crises and build democracies for the future? 💡In this new article @adrianbua.bsky.social and I argue that the field needs to strengthen its change-making orientation and capacity. Open access 👉🏼 journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...

“There is an emerging opportunity for councils to reimagine how democracy can be done better”. Our Principal Practice Lead Liin Nur explains our ambitions for Waves – the biggest trial of digital democracy in the UK – and the solid foundations that the programme is built upon.

Looking forward to day 3 of #LGAConf25 - pop along to stand A24 to chat about our latest research, last chance entry to the levy-funded Senior Leader programme, and our policy proposals on citizen engagement. And pick up a 21C councillor coaster!

Do love a train thread 🚂

Here's my weekly roundup of nonprofit data jobs. Subscribers received this yesterday buttondown.com/likeaword/ar...

Fancy working with me? Want to do messy, community-led research with communities in Clackmannanshire? Then do I have the job for you! www.stir.ac.uk/about/work-a...

Great to hear from the fantastic @joe-mitchell.com at the @publicinterestnews.org.uk launch of their 2025 Survey of independent news providers 🗞️🗞️ 2024 was a big year for democracy and great to hear that the public interest news sector felt they had a big social impact!

councils should have their headquarters buildings in town centres, not in business parks miles from the nearest railway station - this is not me making a sociopolitical point but practical annoyance as someone who can't drive and who has to visit council HQs a lot

Ian Thomas kicks off #StrongerThings, pointing out that the phrase "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure" was coined by Benjamin Franklin in *1736*. So we've known it for a while...

By the way, is it 'AI' or 'A.I.'? I mean, A.I. seems clunky, but AI is a three toed sloth* *very hand towards the end of a game of scrabble

Our deputy chief exec @se13ed.bsky.social says it's time to rethink governance and scrutiny for mayoral authorities, given their increasing power - and because of how they'll use that power:

I was delighted to be able to able to give evidence in Parliament today to the Science, Innovation and Technology Committee's inquiry on the Digital centre of government. I hope I represented #localgov #digital well. You can watch and make your own mind up here: parliamentlive.tv/event/index/...

Here is a something I wrote about different approaches to in-person and virtual scrutiny committee meetings. #niche www.linkedin.com/posts/mckenn...

I enjoyed Conclave. Not least because the plot revolves around a voting system.

Good luck to all my #localgov colleagues across England who are working today, tonight, and tomorrow on local elections.

Hard to process this 😔

Bluesky will be our primary social media platform for the #PSA25 conference. Find and follow us @polstudiesassoc.bsky.social

1. Find a topic you really care about 2. Take time to get the question right 3. The @patrickdunleavy.bsky.social book 4. Follow @thesiswhisperer.bsky.social

Cracking slide here from Jason Leman #cfgs2025

New pens with the new @cfgs.bsky.social branding. That’s what I’m here for 💚 #cfgs2025

Here is Mel Stevens getting us organised for what promises to be a fabulous day of reflection and discussion all about scrutiny 💚 #cfgs2025

Mornin’