Great workshop yesterday at @ccc-research.bsky.social – we explored how strengths/limitations of English devolution might inform local/regional reform in Scotland. Thanks to all who joined, esp. @ariannagiovannini.bsky.social @paulanderson88.bsky.social & @sekip.bsky.social! @uoe-sps.bsky.social

✨New @ccc-research.bsky.social blog assessing Reform’s success at #LE2025🗳️ ➡️Government failure to deliver change communities have long been calling for makes Reform thrive Enact the radical reforms needed to shift the dial, or succumb to Reform www.centreonconstitutionalchange.ac.uk/news-and-opi...

New blog! Reform(s) coming home to bite. Read @ariannagiovannini.bsky.social on the causes behind the surge in support for Reform, and what could be done to address them: edin.ac/44mYccj

Brilliant panel led by @ariannagiovannini.bsky.social on the role of academia in shaping policy, particularly at the subregional level in England. Lots of valuable experience, insight, and advice from Patrick Diamond, Peter Murphy, @louisereardon.bsky.social, and @rileyresearch.bsky.social #PSA2025

🇬🇧So much looking forward to be back to the UK for @polstudiesassoc.bsky.social annual conference next week & contribute to @psalocalpol.bsky.social sessions! ✨The Local Politics & Governance Specialist Group has a fantastic line up of panels & roundtables at #PSA25 — check them out here & join us👇🏽🤓

✨Honoured to be included in the Local Government Information Unit (LGIU) “Top 25 Thinkers in Local Government” - and deeply flattered to see my name alongside some true #localgov giants 🙏 lgiu.org/publication/...

Sobering.

Hello England, I missed you. Spectacular landing views yesterday, while Manchester was under a thick layer of fog 🫧

All I want for Christmas is a house that looks tidy for more than 5 minutes 🎄✨ 🫠 #lifewithatoddler

Good piece, as ever, from @craigpberry.bsky.social on English Devo White Paper (and what’s missing in it) 👇🏽

Can you have real devolution (which should be abt bringing politics closer to people)while taking the local out of local gov? Local governance in 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 is undoubtedly a complicated affair,but local gov size is already well above Eu average - not sure making it even bigger is the solution to the problem…

🔌 While we keep waiting for the publication of the white paper on English devo, here’s a good essay on ‘the shape of devolution’ from @rosielockwood.bsky.social & @ryanswift93.bsky.social @ipprnorth.bsky.social 🧩 www.ippr.org/articles/the...

✨Very proud to have contributed a piece with Steven Griggs to this brilliant 50th Anniversary special issue of Local Government Studies 💡 The SI is packed with brilliant contributions from great scholars — and it’s *open access* so check it out! 👇🏽

Great piece & thread from @jenwilliamsft.bsky.social here👇🏽

Can England’s new breed of mayors help fix its left-behind regions? www.ft.com/content/071a...

Looks very much like ministers want to use the lure of MCAs to drive local government reorganisation. Which was always Hezza's aim (and no one ever described him as believing in building devolution from the ground up) cc @swannphil.bsky.social www.room151.co.uk/governance/r...

Please consider following the Italian Politics Specialist group of the @polstudiesassoc.bsky.social, which I co-convene with @dbonansinga.bsky.social. We cover all aspects of Italian politics via conferences, workshops, publications... & by engaging with the international media. Just landed here.

✨Join us on 21 Nov at 4pm (in person & online) for a timely event on local democracy organised by CURDS @ Newcastle University Details, lineup & registration link here 👇🏽 forms.office.com/pages/respon...

✨Another brilliant article included in @LGStudies 50th anniversary special issue 🎯@sandfordm3 discusses what happened to local gov academics & research centres - and how/why fewer of them means there’s now a gap in reps of sector in relevant debates among policy-makers/making

Quite puzzled by this article 🤷🏻‍♀️ Argues that Scotland needs to learn from England re metro mayors because “Scottish LG is in a mess & lacks power & authority”…completely ignoring the fact that English local gov is still in a mess even where MMs are in place.. 1/ www.newstatesman.com/politics/sco...

✨New devo deals on the horizon🔭 Interesting to see ✅ Hull & East Riding finally coming together into a single deal - this seemed impossible a few yrs ago. Can the benefits of devo help councils put rivalries aside & develop productive collaboration? www.lgcplus.com/politics/dev...

Immigration is a big issue, both perceived and real. But surely Starmer should seek better options than looking for inspiration from Giorgia Meloni & the awful Italian deal with Albania?🤷🏻‍♀️ #R4today www.bbc.com/news/article...

💰Doing business rates differently Good piece from Kevin Muldoon-Smith & Mark Sandford looking at potential options for changes to business rates👇🏽

Brilliant thread from Mark Sandford on English devo research ⤵️ 🎯 Lots of analysis out there, but most papers/reports seek to reinvent the wheel simply assuming government can start with a clean slate, without properly asking or assessing *why* England is so centralised.

In a recent paper, @ariannagiovannini.bsky.social & Steven Griggs argue that academics have been too vague about the meaning of "the local", both as a normative vision and as a unit of analysis. They accept an open, plural definition but argue we must all be more explicit when we use the concept.

Morning. First post on BlueSky. To recommend this piece by @nick80.bsky.social on local government's role / interaction with Labour's mission-based government concept - some very important points here that are not often enough addressed www.themj.co.uk/local-govern...

How are local authorities responding to financial pressures? Research underway at New Local with the International Public Policy Observatory highlights the nature of the challenges facing councils & how they are thinking differently: read our new blog for more ⬇️ www.newlocal.org.uk/articles/how...

the effects of austerity & persistent socio-economic decline on local communities provide fertile ground for grievance & unrest, & the far-right capitalises on this latest(but probably not last)deeply troubling manifestation of the revenge of the places that don’t matter? www.ft.com/content/c831...

V interesting analysis from Marco Antonsich & Micheal Skey - well worth reading 👇🏽 “The trouble with England – why rioting in the UK has not spread to Scotland and Wales” theconversation.com/the-trouble-...

Yes - back here too hoping to find a better place/space for discussion 🦋

OK, I made it to the other side 👋 Still not quite sure how things work here though🤔 - tips & links to good feeds welcome 🤗