Title

Author Profile

Steve Leach

Articles by Steve Leach

Unitarisation: What comes next?

By Steve Leach | 24 April 2026

Steve Leach and Colin Copus ask if there will be ‘a further influx of smaller unitary authorities...

Political convenience is no justification for unconstitutional local election tinkering

By Colin Copus | 02 February 2026

The Government’s decision to ‘postpone or cancel’ local elections is ‘a travesty of constitutiona...

Dear secretary of state – part 2

By Steve Leach | 01 October 2025

As the new secretary of state Steve Reed settles into his new role, Steve Leach and Colin Copus t...

Misguided optimism on devo?

By Colin Copus | 28 August 2025

Steve Leach and Colin Copus argue that a narrative of a shift away from centralisation is buildin...

The death of local government

By Steve Leach | 25 June 2025

The Government’s commitment to authorities of around half-a-million will further decimate the cou...

A magic population number for local government is a fallacy

By Colin Copus | 10 February 2025

The Government is progressing with a centralisation agenda dividing local government into deliver...

Happy Birthday district councils

By Colin Copus | 16 December 2024

Devolution does not need wasteful, time consuming and expensive reorganisation, argue Colin Copus...

Is reorganisation inevitable or just ingrained?

By Steve Leach | 03 October 2024

It is not increases in council sizes that improve local government, and the public don’t benefit ...

A letter to the new PM

By Steve Leach | 11 June 2024

Steve Leach and Colin Copus write to the next Prime Minister with ideas for strengthening local g...

What next for unitarisation?

By Steve Leach | 30 April 2024

Ahead of the Mayoral elections, Steve Leach and Colin Copus ask if the proliferation of combined ...