Charlotte Morgan gives a rapid response to the Government's Levelling Up white paper - and what it really says about devolution.

2nd February, 2022


Grace Pollard explores how organisations can ask themselves: How are we listening? Who are we listening to? And does our listening lead to action?

31st January, 2022


A new campaign seeks support for a route to decentralisation that is more meaningful and radical than the government’s, writes Adam Lent

17th January, 2022


Sheffield University’s Dr Matthew Wood shares three tips for councils aspiring to bring communities into decision making.

5th January, 2022


Meet others who are working on the same stuff as you in these subject-specific deep-dive sessions.

5th January, 2022


Councils that seriously engage their residents build deep relationships of trust that enable them to transform a place together. This kind of shared agenda saves you money, time and aggro […]

4th January, 2022


Following the leak of Gove’s devolution plans, Adam Lent explores the difference between a devolution designed to empower communities and places and one that is stuck in an outdated focus on growth and productivity.

14th December, 2021


Luca Tiratelli responds to the view that community power can be a way of cutting public services.

10th December, 2021


Some elected representatives find community power objectionable. Adam Lent explains why their concerns say more about the failings of the current system than about a community powered alternative.

6th December, 2021


Following the launch of the We’re Right Here campaign, Adam Lent explains why we’ve joined the drive to enshrine the rights of communities in law.

30th November, 2021


Listening to communities can unlock co-benefits.

22nd November, 2021


It’s not NIMBYs preventing housing being built – it’s a system that creates conflict by design.

17th November, 2021


Giving councils and communities more power to drive new development will finally start to solve a housing crisis made worse by decades of government reform, finds new research. Housing Beyond […]

17th November, 2021


We're building under half of the new homes we need, while millions live in unsuitable and overcrowded accommodation. What if involving communities in planning could succeed where decades of reforms have failed? Pawda Tjoa on how councils can construct...

17th November, 2021


Ideas and reflections centred around three main challenges: Engaging the whole community on climate change. Telling an external story connecting local and global environmental issues. Ensuring climate change is a priority across the council.

8th November, 2021


How do we blast through the inertia currently gripping British climate policy making?

8th November, 2021


Introducing our new project on the ‘how’ of community power and our initial findings.

2nd November, 2021


What can local battles against climate change teach us about what needs to happen on the national stage?

20th October, 2021


Local action can play a major role in our response to climate change.

20th October, 2021


Local action is the ‘missing piece’ of plans to fight climate change.

20th October, 2021


As the world reels from an accelerating environmental crisis, Adam Lent details a vision of a sustainable economy that has local communities rather than big business at its heart. Contrary […]

12th October, 2021


Community power hit the political mainstream on Sunday, as Michael Gove used one of his first platforms as Secretary of State to endorse the idea of putting people in charge of local services and social infrastructure.

6th October, 2021


In a paper published by New Local, ten Conservative MPs elected in 2019 have said its time for their party to ‘trust the people’ and caution that money alone will solve the problems facing the country.

2nd October, 2021


New Local and the New Social Covenant Unit are pleased to co-publish this report by 10 Conservative MPs.

2nd October, 2021


Watch videos from the New Local event.

30th September, 2021


New Local Network and Events Officer Stephanie Riches explains how the pandemic has changed how she views her own identity and illustrated the importance of taking pride in your area […]

16th September, 2021


The right narrative or story can make the difference in creating change. How can you develop them? Bonnie Hewson of Power to Change shares some inspiring examples from communities.

9th September, 2021


Ideas and reflections centred around three main challenges: building trust with communities; creating an organisational culture that values and enables community deliberation; and ensuring that councils are engaging with and hearing from all their communities.

1st September, 2021


We're looking for community leaders to develop and lead a major new campaign for community power.

18th August, 2021


During lockdown, there was a surprising increase in local participation - demonstrating the positive role of community power in emergencies.

16th August, 2021


Once described as the 'scrag-end' of Kingston-upon-Thames, Tolworth was less a destination, more a place to pass through or avoid completely. That was until a group of local residents decided to add a bit of colour, playfulness and plastic...

29th July, 2021


Thinking of climate change through a local lens can help us find practical solutions, and stop searching for silver bullets. Luca Tiratelli on our new research project in partnership with Groundwork and Grosvenor.

15th July, 2021


In the UK, access to healthcare may be egalitarian in principle, but outcomes are becoming less and less equal. Spurred on by the experience of Covid, a growing movement is building solutions - not within hospitals or GP surgeries,...

8th July, 2021


A quarter of the buildings on Plymouth's Union Street were standing empty until local residents decided to do something about it. Now they've taken over four - bringing hope, jobs, money and fun to an area that felt the...

2nd July, 2021


Rising demand, poor outcomes, public expectations and the need to bring humanity to healthcare are why giving more power to communities is the change the NHS needs argues Luca Tiratelli.

1st July, 2021


How can we make sure integrated care systems work for local people? Alex Fox argues we need to avoid just integrating bureaucracies, but take the opportunity to put patients' needs first.

23rd June, 2021


Jessica Tunks, 18 years old, shares the story of Streetbase in Waltham Forest – a project to tackle violent crime that shows the value of young people’s voices.

15th June, 2021


New Local board member Raj Jain on moving beyond an "ill-health service".

8th June, 2021


What are the practical ways to make community power an everyday practice, not just a long-term ambition?

3rd June, 2021


Balancing short-term and long-term political and financial pressures with the imperative to respond meaningfully to the climate emergency.

25th May, 2021


Mark Pepper was born and bred in Lawrence Weston, an historically neglected estate on the outskirts of Bristol. After one of the area’s last public spaces was closed, Mark and […]

24th May, 2021


Demand on the NHS is rising. To protect the future, the health service needs more than internal reform - it needs to reach outwards.

13th May, 2021


Why do we keep sending people back to the conditions that have made them ill in the first place? This question is at the core of GP Dr Mark Spencer’s […]

13th May, 2021


All over the world, people are coming together to make decisions on some of the major issues we're facing today. But what is the potential for real consensus vs conflict? And does this modish form of community power have...

11th May, 2021


The pandemic has highlighted the gap between local communities and central government. Communities rose to the challenge and came together, central government scrambled to react and lost trust. Jane Dudman explores the year we saw how centralisation affects us...

29th April, 2021


The latest sleaze scandal shines a light on the rot within national politics. But a more serious, community powered model of democracy is emerging at a local level, writes Adam Lent.

27th April, 2021


FutureGov's Craig Morbey reflects on the most common challenges that councils face when trying to implement community power approaches and how to overcome them.

12th April, 2021


Luca Tiratelli on why the way we define 'community' and 'underused land' will determine the success of the government's new Right to Regenerate.

8th April, 2021


The Community Ownership Fund announced in the budget is designed to help communities buy local assets. Power to Change’s Nick Plumb looks at the difference that community ownership can make and how to make the new fund a success.

23rd March, 2021


We reflect on New Local's recent Stronger Things online event - a range of inspiring conversations about communities and local government making a difference.

19th March, 2021