Paul Hayes

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.

Yep. That's me that is. Coming Over Here, stealing your women...

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.

I have come to the conclusion that it s not 'build' that a lot of Red Wall folk want - It's 'repair'. More 'bring back the facilities we had', than 'put in new ones that are not for the likes of us'.

Oh, 'armchair auditors'. Remind me again how that turned out.

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.

Politics latest: Row over Reform plan to ban some flags from being flown The fallout continues from last week's election results, with an ex-minister urging Keir Starmer to change course. It comes as Reform sets out its agenda for councils it now controls - with a flag ban...

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

It begins.

Not to mention the Ombudsman maladministration judgements and judicial reviews.

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

How Did This Suburb Figure Out Mass Transit? Transit ridership is off the charts in Brampton, Ontario, despite its typical low-density suburban layout. Here’s how the city got residents to get on the bus.

"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...

How our region harnessed university power to boost capacity | Local Government Chronicle (LGC) A unique collaboration between universities and local government in Yorkshire and the Humber has provided policy support for councils across the region,

@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...

Since 2010-11, in real per capita terms, core spending power of local authorities is down nearly 20 per cent. The effect of the austerity years on local government has been well documented, and the 30 per cent fall in real terms per capita core spending power from 2010-11 to 2017-18 puts this in sharp focus

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.

I think 'officers running the council' might not be that easy an option. I'm sensing more brain drains, early retirements and rock bottom morale for those officers remaining being the case.

The Guardian view on Birmingham’s bin strikes: a wake-up call for Labour | Editorial Editorial: England’s second city has become a symbol of political dysfunction. But the government should also draw wider lessons from the chaos

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...

Alberto Costa: Dealing with dysfunctional Parish and Town Councils | Conservative Home Perhaps it’s time to keep the cameras rolling for greater transparency. Sunlight, after all, is the best disinfectant.

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...

I inherited my parents’ house, now I’m classed as a second-home owner Kath Nugent’s surprise £4,900 council tax bill highlights how new rules are forcing people to sell homes they’d prefer to keep

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.

One of the many reasons for the downfall of Militant - they had very little interest in local govt other than using it as a platform to attack the Thatcher govt.