Tag: Politics

Solution to Labour’s public services dilemma is just a train ride away

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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Community power: top questions answered

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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Leadership Lucky Draw: Anthony Okereke

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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The art of creating awesome politicians

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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Community power was on Labour’s fringe but didn’t feel niche

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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Local leaders set out route for Labour to deliver ambitions in government

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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A Labour Vision for Community Power: Participation, prevention and devolution

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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The real Tragedy of the Commons

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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New polling: Public back community-powered solutions to national crises

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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New poll: Only 14% trust Government to solve cost of living crisis

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

8th May, 2022

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Top quotes from Stronger Things

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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“With really empowered communities, pride follows.” Angela Rayner speech at Stronger Things

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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The Permanent Crisis is Here. The State Must Rapidly Adapt.

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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A White Paper fit for Groundhog Day

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 local government. The regional inequalities which mar our country...

2nd February, 2022

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We should rip welfare policy out of the hands of a failing Westminster

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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Dear Michael Gove, here’s what real devolution looks like

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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Why the left should back community power

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

10th December, 2021

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MPs and Councillors have nothing to fear from Community Power

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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Political reset: Why it’s high time for a Community Power Act

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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No Kate Bingham, science won’t solve our government’s problems

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 of legitimacy not a lack of smart people. And...

25th November, 2021

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The current NHS crisis is the result of repeated failures to overturn a broken model of healthcare

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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This week shows only ground-up pressure will change an inert and dysfunctional Westminster

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

12th November, 2021

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Climate Change: Why the local is the missing piece of our response

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

8th November, 2021

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5 reasons the Spending Review wasn’t good news for local government

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

28th October, 2021

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Community-powered Conservatism: 3 ideas set to sweep government

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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New Tory MPs: We need to put power into hands of communities to level up the country

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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Trusting the People: the case for community-powered conservatism

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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An open Letter to Michael Gove from New Local

Give communities the power they need to level up

22nd September, 2021

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Join our Campaign for Community Power

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

18th August, 2021

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The Narrowing Political Sphere and the Need for Community Power

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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2021 Mayoral Elections – what are the parties saying about community power in England?

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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2021 Holyrood Election – what are the parties saying about community power in Scotland?

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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Beyond the Westminster Circus: Statecraft vs Politics

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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2021 Senedd Election – what are the parties saying about community power in Wales?

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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Justice statue

Communities are being failed. It’s time to enshrine their rights.

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 Reform Plans Reinforce the Elitism he Claims to Despise

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

29th June, 2020


Elinor Ostrom and Community Power in the UK – Presentation

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 online symposium on Elinor Ostrom. It provides an overview...

20th April, 2020

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Manifesto analysis: what do they say about local power?

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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Why we urgently need a Community Power Act – and what should be in it

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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How economic optimism is declining amid Brexit

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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It’s politics Jim, but not as we know it

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 on through a newly reconvened, non-prorogued Parliament, careering headlong...

26th September, 2019

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MPs can’t just defend democracy in this crisis, they must deepen it too

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 deliver on the referendum result and a legislature that...

28th August, 2019

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History’s lesson on the toxic power of fear

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 positive culture. Over recent weeks, so many of us...

5th July, 2019

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On local election day, let’s remember that all politics is local

Happy local election day! In the unique way of our quirky local democratic traditions, a complicated collection of nearly all English metropolitan boroughs, most district councils and some unitaries are holding elections today. Across the country, pavements have been...

2nd May, 2019

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Political Innovation and Community Resilience: Lessons from Latin America

As millions of citizens across Latin America are seeing their countries become subject to authoritarian rule, the continent appears an unlikely source of inspiration for political innovation. From Nicolás Maduro’s illegitimate dictatorship of Venezuela to Daniel Ortega’s campaign of...

12th March, 2019

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Forget Blitz Spirit, let’s invoke the can-do radicalism of the War and transform the state

This article first appeared in the LGC on 05 February 2019. Never in the field of political conflict were so many wartime references uttered by so few to be endured by so many. Whether it is Mark Francois MP...

6th February, 2019

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The public sector will pay the price for a botched Brexit

This article was first published in the LGC on the 15th of January. The current Westminster conniptions are so often presented as a debate about the long-term future of the United Kingdom that it is easy to forget that...

16th January, 2019

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Local Government excluded from post-Brexit domestic policy Cabinet Committee

One of the quieter Brexit-related announcements made by the Government this week concerned a ‘reshuffle’ of its Cabinet Committees. The European Union Exit and Trade (Domestic Preparedness, Legislation and Devolution) sub-Committee, which oversaw domestic policy preparation for Brexit, has...

11th January, 2019

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A budget that leaves councils at the mercy of Boris Johnson

The Chancellor was clearly feeling the hand of history on his shoulder. A new chapter and a turning point were declared as Phillip Hammond informed the House that austerity was now ending just like the PM said it would....

30th October, 2018

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The Budget must overturn a catastrophic policy error made eight years ago

In 2008, Alistair Darling’s Autumn Statement as Chancellor of the Exchequer contained two bombshells. The first being that he was spending £200bn to keep the economy afloat following the financial crash of a few weeks earlier. The second was...

24th October, 2018

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