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Dr Jonathan Carr-West
Dr Jonathan Carr-West is chief executive of the Local Government Information Unit (LGiU)
Building from the ground up
Dr Jonathan Carr-West says the energy directed at Brexit could have been focused on other things - and councils should have a settlement with their communities so they can build a stronger national constitutional framework from the bottom up.
Under pressure
The tragedy of local government is that over a decade of pressure, the urgent has crowded out the important and the big picture has been obscured by the struggle to survive. Dr Jonathan Carr-West asks: how do we move from ‘better’ to ‘different’?
Reforming social care is a ‘whole society problem’
Dr Jonathan Carr-West asks if strengths-based approaches to caring for older people could actually obscure the sort of systemic change we need.
Ten years of shining a light on the exceptional work of councillors
The Local Government Information Unit’s (LGiU) Cllr Achievement Awards – now in their 10th year – are the only national awards to honour the hard work and dedication of councillors. Dr Jonathan Carr-West, chief executive of the LGiU, tells us more.
Rolling out a new institutionalism
Dr Jonathan Carr-West wonders if, alongside new localism, we need a new institutionalism too?
The basic laws of political physics
Dr Jonathan Carr-West says pressure provides a burning platform and the political vacuum an opportunity for action. But if the atmosphere remains toxic, we won’t be able to move forward at all
The local is where the repairs begin
The things these elections should really be about – homes, schools, high streets, care and children’s services - are being fatally undermined by dysfunctional national politics, says Dr Jonathan Carr-West.
Start the democratic therapy process
Local elections will be taking place against a Brexit backdrop - but Dr Jonathan Carr-West argues the problems created by democracy can only be solved by more democracy.
Squeezed and broken
Dr Jonathan Carr-West urges local government to make a unified case for greater funding, by seizing the moment in the run-up to the Spending Review
Be the talk of the town (hall)
The way we talk about councils really matters, says Dr Jonathan Carr-West – and it’s time to speak up for local government and reclaim the powerful origins of the word ‘municipal’
The extra-ordinary people doing extraordinary things
The individual councillors celebrated in the LGiU C’llr Achievement Awards are part of the glue that holds civic life together, says Dr Jonathan Carr-West
Politics may be coming home
Local government had a ‘pretty good showing’ during the party conferences says Dr Jonathan Carr-West. He hopes it could be the start of a much-needed public debate on the local state
Care cash treats the symptoms not the cause of the crisis
Following Matt Hancock's announcement of extra care cash for care, Dr Jonathan Carr-West says the money is not enough to halt the collapse of the system
Bridging the Gap
Dr Jonathan Carr-West asks: how do we move from a place of fiscal precariousness to one of stability?
Bridging the political divide
As new communities secretary James Brokenshire makes his maiden speech at this year’s LGA conference, Dr Jonathan Carr-West hopes he can close the divide between central and local government and address the core issues of money, power and geography.
Building trust in democracy
With the local elections taking place today, Dr Jonathan Carr-West says: get the processes right and the results will follow, especially when seeking to ensure faith in the system of democracy
What constitutes failure?
Bringing commissioners into crisis-hit Northamptonshire CC forces us to think about the value we put on local control and agency, argues Dr Jonathan Carr-West.
What do we talk about when we talk about finance?
If we want to encourage and nurture a better conversation about local resourcing, councils need to take the lead in making that happen. But how do they do that, asks Dr Jonathan Carr-West.
Change doesn't just happen; it's a process
Change is vital, but those trying to affect change must truly understand what's going on at ground level, argues Dr Jonathan Carr-West.
Jonathan Carr-West: Finance settlement was cautious and underwhelming
Dr Jonathan Carr-West argues the local government finance settlement was cautious and underwhelming, but represents some progress.