Local government reorganisation: the best of times, the worst of times
Working with leaders who have been engaged in local government reorganisation (LGR) over the past year has been an exercise in wrestling with paradox.
The process is both a huge opportunity and a huge distraction. The work simultaneously energising and exhausting. And throughout, you witness relationships become stronger, while others are stretched to breaking point.
In a paradoxical universe, it is both the wrong thing to do and the only possible thing to do.
Of course, local government leaders have approached LGR – as always – with determination to get to the right answer for their communities: responding to tight deadlines, putting their own professional futures to one side and continuing to innovate within organisations which will soon cease to exist.
For most places, the proposals are now in, and the next steps lie with the government. It’s only natural then that, while the government consults and makes decisions about the proposals it has received, LGR can feel like something over which local government leaders have very little control – and in some ways this is true. However, locally, a great deal of work continues too, and this is a critical moment for local leaders. Leaders always have control over where they place their attention, what stories they tell about the future, how they show up, who they engage with, whose voices get heard and which relationships are attended to. What is more, all these choices send signals about what the future might both require and hold.
Leading through LGR requires leaders to operate simultaneously across (at least!) three planes: looking outwards to communities, inwards towards staff and across systems to partners in the public, voluntary and private sectors. In this period, LGR must remain an open topic of discussion and engagement with all three of these groups, with attention placed on ensuring opportunities and benefits.
The way leaders engage, now and in the coming months, is a chance to model the future they want to see, setting the tone and direction and expressing the values which need to be carried forward.
Many leaders are using this time to get their house to prepare for transition, leaning into the opportunity of LGR to reshape local government so that it is fit for today and the future, and thinking about what new local authorities should look, feel and be like.
Reaching “safe and legal” is, of course, essential, but it is also the minimum requirement for new local authorities – many leaders recognise that we cannot simply design new organisations using the same templates as before. Instead, we must ask ourselves: what is needed for the future we want, and how do we keep the door open for the organisations that can build it? It cannot be enough to inherit established traditions and behaviours if they no longer serve the purpose and context of local authorities now, so leaders need to invest in actively shaping new organisational vision, purpose and culture.
New councils need to have place, power and prevention – the new local as we have described it – at the heart of their operating models and culture. They need to be ready to collaborate with communities and partners, they must be digitally-enabled and – now more than ever – equipped to thrive in uncertainty.
The operating environment feels uncertain now and has done for some time – this is unlikely to change. New councils will therefore need agility, a mindset of experimentation and the ability to learn and adapt in response to an ever-changing, volatile environment.
As this next phase unfolds, there is still much to be shaped. LGR is not only a structural exercise but a formative moment – one that will influence how new councils lead, relate and serve for years to come. The choices made now, particularly about relationships, culture and ways of working, will echo well beyond the formal transition.
At New Local, we will be working alongside our members through LGR and into the life of new councils, offering space to reflect, learn and think ambitiously about what comes next.
If you would like to talk, share challenges or explore how we can support you during this period and beyond, please do get in touch. There is a great deal to play for: despite the complex and shifting context in which we find ourselves in 2026, this remains a pivotal moment to shape the future of local government – with intent and with hope.
Image Credit: Photo by Claudio Schwarz on Unsplash
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