Andy Pike
Crying wolf or creaking system?
There is contention over the true scale of councils’ financial woes and what lies behind them says Andy Pike. But annual fixes and ad hoc flexibilities can only patch up the dysfunctional funding arrangements in the short term, he believes.
Fixing a broken PWLB
The Public Works Loan Board-anchored system of council capital funding is broken, say David Marlow and Andy Pike.
Councils’ last throw of the dice
Government may believe councils’ financial failures are the result of gambling with the public purse, but it is centralisation and a lack of reform driving the problems, says Andy Pike.
The mayoral question
With just a week to go until residents in six regions take to the polls, Professor Andy Pike looks at the international evidence and warns the case for metro mayors risks becoming an article of faith rather than of fact.
Did the North East win true devolution?
Professor Andy Pike says today’s devolution deal for the North East reflects how national efforts are falling short of true decentralisation.
