Someone, somewhere in the University of Kent’s research office, is trying to work out whether they can put together a REF impact case study out of Matt Godwin.

Interesting article on the impact of free transport schemes (eg concessionary bus passes). Finds: “… most free transportation initiatives around the world enhance physical health, mental well-being, and socioeconomic outcomes… [and] promote social inclusion…”

Who could have guessed it? #localgov Reform’s Olympic champion mayor goes to war with his staff www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/202...

Increasingly convinced the cheapest way to address this is to reverse local government austerity. Returning English local authority budgets to 2010 levels would cost about £7bn. Factor in population and demographic change and you'd want maybe £15bn. Benefits could be seen quickly and felt widely.

Time for me to reverse the snip? Oh no, I was born in *Germany*....

How to win friends and influence people (local govt edition). Look forward to the court cases on this one.

My gut feeling about migration: It's not the economy, or culture, it's some far more visceral psychosexual fear amongst the 'nationalists.' If someone said: "We'll let in every migrant or asylum seeker that asks - just as long as none are male", be interesting to see how the narrative changed.

"Island of Strangers." Worst Enya album ever.

Just what is it about national politicians and flags on town halls? news.sky.com/story/politi...

It begins.

So, no equality and inclusion functions and no hybrid working in Reform controlled councils. Last officer out better remember to turn the lights off.

"The city's approach, focused on upgrading existing bus service - including core routes that run every 5 minutes - rather than investing in expensive capital projects, led to a 288% increase in ridership from 2004 to 2018, with a relatively low public subsidy." www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

@kerstenengland.bsky.social and I do a little thing about bringing together academics and local govt folk for Local Government Chronicle www.lgcplus.com/idea-exchang...

Local government core spending fell sharply during the austerity years and has not yet recovered. While there has been some recovery in core spending power since the mid-2010s, this has been primarily driven by increasing Council Tax - which is highly regressive.

Eliza says happy #caturday.

The Guardian comes out for Unite. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...?

Via the politico newsletter. See that Rachel Reeves promised Bonfire Of The Consultants going well.

Local govt Top Tip for today.

These are definitely worth it. E. G. "When you take power, you think the point is to have smart ideas. When you leave, all your praise is for the rare officials who just know how to get things done."

Almost as if Compulsory Competitive Tendering, 'Best Value' and Austerity driven 'Transformation' programmes never happened in English local government.

Sounds reasonable. conservativehome.com/2025/04/11/a...

Good piece here on town & parish councils. It isn't all Dibley out there: "The Society of Local Council Clerks reported an average turnover rate for clerk from 25% to 30% – compared to the UK’s typical turnover rate of 12% to 15%. conservativehome.com/2025/04/11/a...

Yes, this is exactly how this approach to council tax should work. A house is now back out for sale as opposed to ending up in the hands of an accidental landlord with no clue on housing law and learning as you go. www.thetimes.com/business-mon...

Wait until they come up against the reality of 'The Monitoring Officer'and 'The Section 151 Officer'.

Tonight's discussion: "Who would have made a great Blue Peter presenter?". Think my suggestion of Jonathan Meades wins hands down.

The Telegraph with an interesting definition of 'human rights' here.

Yet again,the 'honours list' telling you all you need to know about British politics.

Reform Mayors & local councils should be 'interesting'. Will they focus on local services, go all DOGE, or be used primarily as a platform to attack central govt and engineer confrontations? May be time to read up on the 80's & the Militant Tendency in English local govt.

Sign-up now for 'Inclusive Play Matters: Shaping the Future of Public Play Spaces in Leeds' Join colleagues in exploring how public play spaces can be designed to foster inclusivity, accessibility, & intergenerational engagement. 📅24 April 🕘9:30am-3pm 📍Nexus 🔗 www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/inclusive-...

"The Bill places a duty on Ministers to publish a CWB statement setting out measures to be taken by the Scottish Govt in relation to CWB & guidance for production of action plans, inclusion of CWB measures in strategic planning & requires local authorities to produce & implement CWB action plans"

Highly recommended. And Neil is (alongside myself) one of last cohort of fans of *local* (as opposed to sub regional) government out there.

Time to dig out the Guy Debord again folks.

'The early years education & childcare system in West Yorkshire' Led by Tom Haines-Doran, in collaboration with @y-pern.bsky.social & @westyorkshireca.bsky.social, the report offers recommendations for improving the regional childcare system & boosting the economy. 👉 y-pern.org.uk/early-years-...

Our April signpost is live! Highlights include: - The final @childofthenorth.bsky.social report on fostering arts & creativity, - Progress in the criminalisation of cuckooing, - Support offered to local parents & caregivers, - Plus events & more. Discover the latest👉 medium.com/policy-leeds...

A la recherche du temps perdu....

What do the angry people think is a reasonable salary for something like a Director of Adult Services in local government? Being an opinion haver on that would probably require some idea of what the job involves.

One of the really sad things about English local government - the propensity of councillors of all parties to turn into Nimbys.

📖Our #blog from Policy Fellows Dr Rebecca Kerr and Dr Juan Pablo Winter Sepulveda "A Network of Networks: Reflections from North and East Yorkshire" examines our ‘network-of-networks' approach and how it fosters collaboration between academics and policymakers. ➡️Read it here: lnkd.in/ewvGxxDz

Assuming the disability cuts to be rapidly reversed soon as someone on Netflix/ITV does a high quality searing drama on their devastating and unfair impacts. Appears to be how UK social policy works now.

📣 Our blog on how our region is collaborating to support region place-based policy is now live. 📖 Read about the findings of last month’s Yorkshire and Humber networks event and what was recognised as the most urgent actions that need addressing. ➡️ y-pern.org.uk/blog/how-our...

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Dubai: It's sort of Guantanamo Bay for the unpleasant and vacuous.

Politics: How it works.

Just imagine how the Daily Mail would report on this if it happened today.

Sure the soon-to-be published impact assessment will cover this in full detail.... www.theguardian.com/society/2025...

To be fair, I've always found they get their round in.

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