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Summer is always a time of reflection for me. The day job quietens down enough for some of the learning and experience over the past year to sink in and gives me time to put it into perspective. I’m looking forward to deploying my skills, experience and networks – and...

The King’s Speech is a key part of the State Opening of Parliament ceremony. It is formally called the Speech from the Throne and is delivered by the monarch, though written by the government. The speech provides the government with an opportunity to outline its...

Get your investment-ready local growth projects ready The Labour Party is going for growth. They say they want to do this by levering in private investment. The clock is ticking It’s time to prime your growth projects for government money. Why the urgency? Quite...

After the General Election on July 04, the UK Labour Party won a significant majority and have formed the new government. What can we expect to see over the next few weeks? I've outlined the main implications of the Labour Party Manifesto for local economic...

The UK Labour Party Manifesto was published this morning (13 June). Here's a quick summary, and some thoughts below. 5 missions (which have already been trailed in the past month: 1) Economic Growth 2) Clean energy superpower 3) Crime 4) Break down barriers to...

When I listen to people discussing the issue of local and regional devolution, I'm now thinking that - ok it might help localities and regions exert more influence and control over what they do and how the deliver it. But I have several concerns: Local government has...

Hi folks - looking for some help. I'm working on a project where I'm trying to analyse the funding and resourcing environment for economic development and regeneration in the UK, against what I think are the essential elements of a government and administrative...

Introduction Glenn Athey and Mike Spicer write about some of the fundamental policy changes that may be required from a new government after the UK General Election, and what Local Authorities and Partnerships can do now to prepare, advocate and lobby ahead of that....

Confused by the new models of sustainable development and how to apply them to your local economy? The more I reflect on my experience over recent years, the more I think that we need to be clearer about what folks should be doing differently with their local economic...