From second homes to food banks, Cornwall is a land of widening extremes
There are many more Airbnb rentals than long-term rentals here – and nothing pushes families to catastrophe quicker than insecure…
ByLocal government
Local government in the United Kingdom manages services for people and businesses in local areas. Some of these services are schools, housing, social care, business support and registrar services. Local councils are a common type of local authority. Local public elected councillors sit on these councils and are responsible for working with local people and businesses to provide these services. Find all our latest news, comment and analysis on local government here.
Bankruptcy and “overnight markets”: Essex’s council finance headache
As Thurrock admits losing £500m in risky investments, a freedom of information request highlights problems with inter-council lending.
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Labour must be radical on public service reform
Rethinking public services can rebuild trust in the state – and rebalance our economy.
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Labour’s triumph in the Stretford by-election shows the Tories will need a miracle to win
Keir Starmer’s party victory was consistent with its national poll lead of around 20 points.
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“The Tories have given up”: Tyne mayor Jamie Driscoll on revitalising the north-east
One of Labour’s “last Corbynistas in power” believes further devolution and left-wing ideas could revolutionise regionalism in the UK.
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Cash-strapped councils “not out of the woods” after Jeremy Hunt’s Autumn Statement
There needs to be a long-term funding plan to protect services, says the Local Government Association.
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A child has died from Britain’s failed housing system. Will the government finally act?
Incidents like the death of Awaab Ishak are thankfully rare; the conditions that lead to them are all too common.
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How political failures led to the Grenfell Tower fire
Peter Apps’s book, Show Me the Bodies, forensically uncovers the truth about the disaster that killed 72 people in 2017.
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Child asylum seekers are caught between the Home Office and cash-strapped councils
Already subject to invasive assessments, minors may now be at risk of deportation to Rwanda.
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Government failing to address “deadly issue” of air pollution
The Public Accounts Committee has called for a new approach to tackling poor air quality.
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The Policy Ask with Adam Lent: “You can’t rip resources away from councils and claim to have a moral compass”
The chief executive of the New Local think tank on flexible working, the underfunding of local authorities and what the…
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Councils will crumble under Jeremy Hunt’s spending cuts
Growth does not have to require the hollowing out of public services.
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My local café is the centre of the community – but inflation is killing it
Once a neighbourhood dies, it is lost forever.
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“The Tories are seen as increasingly anti-London”, says Westminster’s first Labour leader
Adam Hug on his party’s path to power in the capital's iconic borough.
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Wakefield and Tiverton & Honiton by-election results
Full coverage as the Conservatives lose two by-elections in one night.
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Is this really the best the Tories can do for by-election candidates?
Helen Hurford refused to say whether Boris Johnson was trustworthy, while Nadeem Ahmed compared his predecessor to Harold Shipman.
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From the NS archive: The twenty-year wait
19 December 1980: Britain will soon be well on the way to recreating the slum housing problems of the Forties.
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Pothole politics: A green councillor on breaking through in south London
The Greens gained seats across England, Scotland and Wales. They now hold real power in Croydon.
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Pothole politics: a Lib Dem councillor on the party’s renaissance in Sunderland
The north-east city is famous for quick election declarations, but residents need action on energy costs.
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Pothole politics: A Labour councillor’s view on winning Herts
A local councillor tells Spotlight about the challenges ahead in the commuter belt, where residents have turned away from the…
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