As the Government’s agenda for local government, devolution and public services takes shape, a ‘new local’ is emerging, built on the principles of power, prevention and place.

27th January, 2025

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New Local response to the English Devolution White Paper

16th December, 2024

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Jessica Studdert identifies three shifts local government needs from the first fiscal event of the new Parliament.

23rd October, 2024

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After a bold start, the Government has an opportunity to pursue a test and learn approach to place-based service reform, says Jessica Studdert.

12th August, 2024

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New MPs have arrived for their first day on the job, the Cabinet is in post, and the wheels of government are turning once more. Catriona Maclay puts forward nine lessons that can be learnt from local government.

11th July, 2024

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In his last week as chief executive of New Local, Adam Lent ditches sensible moderation and describes the change we really need: radical integration, radical devolution and radical community power.

2nd May, 2024

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On local election day we're celebrating some of the many ways councils are transforming their places with the help of community power.

2nd May, 2024

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Labour lacks a strategy for a public sector under unprecedented pressure. The solution can be found on the frontline, says Adam Lent.

8th April, 2024

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Adam Lent tackles some of the most common questions about community power in the public sector, from its benefits, to real-life examples, to its why its time has come in today's 'permacrisis'.

8th April, 2024

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Anthony Okereke is the Leader of the Royal Borough of Greenwich. He took on New Local's leadership lucky draw.

29th February, 2024

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A tech engineer by training, Omezzine Khelifa left a life in France to work in the Tunisian transition from dictatorship to democracy. Today she is the executive director of the Apolitical Foundation Accelerator programme, helping equip a new type...

23rd January, 2024

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Radical devolution was a key talking point at Labour party conference, but Keir Starmer's speech didn't deliver on the detail, writes Katy Oglethorpe.

23rd October, 2023

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Council leaders have set out a roadmap for reforming public services and rebuilding trust under a future Labour government, starting with giving meaningful power and influence to communities. 

26th September, 2023

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Labour council leaders set out a route for Labour to deliver its objectives in government, starting with giving communities meaningful power and influence. A Labour Vision for Community Power is an ambitious agenda for action, driven by the principles...

26th September, 2023

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As MPs return to Parliament, and in the wake of an economic orthodoxy overhaul, Polly Lord examines the ‘tragedy of the commons’ phenomenon - arguing that the real tragedy lies in the assumptions made at Westminster and the failure...

7th October, 2022

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Our new polling finds widespread public support for the idea of community power - including to tackle the cost of living crisis.

9th May, 2022

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Two thirds of people do not trust national politicians to address the mounting cost of living crisis.

8th May, 2022

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A round-up of some of the most notable take-aways from New Local’s festival of community power.

13th April, 2022

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The full text of the speech delivered by Angela Rayner at New Local's Stronger Things 2022 at the Guildhall, London on 29 March.

4th April, 2022

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In this crisis-ridden era, Adam Lent argues that a bigger state is needed but it must be a fundamentally different, community powered state.

23rd February, 2022

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Have we been here before? Jessica Studdert on the Levelling Up white paper, and how laudable ambitions have amounted to a familiar dearth of real powers or policy coherence for […]

2nd February, 2022

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Today’s announcement on Universal Credit is one more example of welfare policy set to serve the interests of the politically powerful rather than the unemployed and the economy.

27th January, 2022

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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

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

10th December, 2021

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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

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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

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A new breed of libertarianism argues that more scientific and data expertise are the only solutions to our democracy’s woes. Adam Lent counters that Westminster’s troubles originate in a crisis […]

25th November, 2021

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More short-term fixes will only lead to further crisis. It's time for leadership to change the narrative.

18th November, 2021

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Holding onto second jobs and central power - Westminster is unable to change itself from within.

12th November, 2021

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

8th November, 2021

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Looking more closely at the detail beneath the positive Budget headlines.

28th October, 2021

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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

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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

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

2nd October, 2021

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Give communities the power they need to level up

22nd September, 2021

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

18th August, 2021

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Luca Tiratelli on how the Queen's Speech defines politics as something only done in Westminster, and why we need a community-first way of understanding democracy.

17th May, 2021

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Voters across Great Britain will head to the polls on 6 May 2021 for important national and local elections. But what are the main contenders saying about community power? We’ve read the manifestos so you don’t have to. Part...

30th April, 2021

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Voters across Great Britain will head to the polls on 6 May 2021 for important national and local elections. But what are the parties saying about community power and reforming local government? We’ve read the manifestos so you don’t...

28th April, 2021

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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

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Voters across Great Britain will head to the polls on 6 May 2021 for important national and local elections. But what are the parties saying about community power and reforming local government? We’ve read the manifestos so you don’t...

23rd April, 2021

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The Government’s centralised response and lethal failures on Covid mean it's time to acknowledge that local communities have rights that should be enshrined in law.

15th October, 2020

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Michael Gove's agenda-setting speech fails to reckon with power.

29th June, 2020


Who was Elinor Ostrom? What were her key arguments? How are they relevant to localism, public services, and politics in the UK? This presentation serves as an introduction to our […]

20th April, 2020

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With this Community Paradigm front and centre in our minds, here’s our take on the highlights from each party’s manifesto and what these say about their vision for local government and communities.

27th November, 2019

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NLGN's Director makes the case for a new law that would shift power from public institutions and into the hands of citizens.

11th November, 2019

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This month’s NLGN Leadership Index report reveals that councils are even less hopeful about the impact of Brexit on their local economy than they were two years ago.

31st October, 2019

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There is no need for another blog to articulate the complete chaos that the British politics system finds itself in at the present time. As of today, the government teeters […]

26th September, 2019

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Boris Johnson and Dominic Cummings have got MPs exactly where they want them: defending Parliament. They may cast this right now as a battle between an executive that wants to […]

28th August, 2019

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Article originally published in HSG.co.uk The Chernobyl TV series is a powerful reminder of what happens when competition, persecution and dread rule. Donna Hall celebrates an organisation with a more […]

5th July, 2019

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