Inclusive Growth
Ministers urged to invest in West Midlands
Ministers have been urged to inject £3.2bn over the next three years into the West Midlands economy to offset the impact of the pandemic.
Redefining the geography of levelling up
The Red Wall of traditionally Labour-voting areas are not the only places that need support, says Rosie Stock Jones. Many of the most vulnerable communities are also in London and the South East.
EXCLUSIVE: Authorities 'key' to local economic wealth
Local government must be the key player in a democratic reform of our economies that takes a decade of community wealth building into the mainstream, says CLES.
The 2020 Public Services Commission: 10 years after
Ben Lucas and Dr Henry Kippin assess the work of the 2020 Public Services Commission. They also address how society can recover from the coronavirus crisis, and argue the need for a different economic model if we want to build back better.
Putting local communities at the heart of the green jobs revolution
Councils are driving the climate change agenda locally, says Cllr Sir Richard Leese. They can be the catalyst for a new green jobs bonanza to help recovery, he adds.
No glorious but implausible utopias
Mike Emmerich says we should use the recovery phase to build on what councils have been doing during the emergency – quickly rising to the challenge. Councils need to put concrete ideas on the table, he adds.
Where do we go from here to ‘level up’ this country?
The survival of the local state might be at stake, but this ‘failing’ is not of its own making, says Dr Arianna Giovannini. Our ‘broken centralised system of governance is the root cause of the meltdown that most councils are facing’, she adds.
Economic recovery and reform: the role of community power
The resurgence of community action has been impressive and needs to be seen as a ‘power source’ to build back a better economy, say Tom Lloyd Goodwin and Neil McInroy.
Level up, bounce back - wise up
Our recovery will be even slower, more difficult and unequal if it depends on waiting for Whitehall to formulate a plan from the centre, argues director of IPPR North Sarah Longlands.
Districts are agile, responsive and efficient in the face of adversity
District councils have been working hard, along with public sector colleagues, to ensure the national response to the current emergency is having the desired effect of saving lives and protecting our communities, says Lawrence Conway.
Where are the riskiest places for COVID-19?
During April, the Centre for Progessive Policy’s COVID-19 Health Index examined the systemic vulnerability of local areas alongside the reality of rising case numbers. Ben Franklin highlights the 15 riskiest areas.
Let’s make the argument now for the world we want to live in
Will the impact of coronavirus mean more state investment or 10 more years of austerity to pay for the Government’s interventions, asks Dr Jonathan Carr-West.
CV19 – DEVO3.0
Steve Barwick outlines three reasons why COVID-19 is creating the shift in public opinion and institutional reality that makes the next chapter of ‘better wider, deeper’ devolution more likely.
Levelling up and the Budget
Lord Bob Kerslake argues that a coherent plan is needed to ensure the Budget’s new capital spending and R&D cash geared at areas outside London and the South East has maximum impact.
Balancing budgets and Beatles
It has been a tumultuous few years for Liverpool City Council. Chief executive Tony Reeves and the new management team are focused on inclusive growth in a city that is rich with culture. Heather Jameson reports.
Budget 2020: Putting the numbers in perspective
By recent standards the Chancellor’s Budget jokes were pretty good, says Charlotte Alldritt of the Centre for Progressive Policy. But it is time to get serious, if the government is going to deliver on its levelling up agenda.
Ministers need to define what they mean by ‘levelling up’
What precisely do ministers mean when they use the phrase 'levelling' up, asks Michael Burton. 'Wealthy areas also contain poor neighbourhoods and vice versa.'
Go big or go home
Chair of the UK2070 Commission into spatial inequalities Lord Bob Kerslake says everyone will lose if we fail to tackle the widening productivity and wealth gap.
Reports highlight core cities' low productivity and increasing regional inequalities
Productivity in the UK’s core cites is low by national and international standards and regional inequalities are continuing to increase, two new reports have revealed.
OECD report on Core Cities is key to 'levelling up' the UK
Productivity in the UK’s Core Cities is low by national and international standards and they have the potential for much stronger and more inclusive growth, according to a new report from the OECD.
