Battlegrounds or Labour Consolidation? – What to watch out for in this week’s local elections

This is the first England wide test of electoral opinion since last year’s snap general election.  Seats on around 150 councils and according to Britain Elects 4,425 seats will be up for grabs, 40 per cent (1,833) of which are in London. This includes most seats in the city conurbations, such as all 32 London … Continue reading “Battlegrounds or Labour Consolidation? – What to watch out for in this week’s local elections”

The Economic Impacts of Brexit on the UK, its Regions, its Cities and its Sectors: Participatory Workshops

Our ESRC funded Brexit project, as part of the UK in a Changing Europe Initiative, aims to examine in detail the likely impacts of Brexit on the UK’s sectors, regions, and cities. Our analysis draws upon the most detailed regional-national-international trade and competition datasets currently available anywhere in the world, allowing us to examine the impacts of … Continue reading “The Economic Impacts of Brexit on the UK, its Regions, its Cities and its Sectors: Participatory Workshops”

Working together to improve Services for the General Public: How can Small to Medium Sized Businesses and Local Government improve their interactions?

In this blog, Hilary Simpson, the Founder of Sleuth Cooperative, a not for profit organisation that aims to deliver simple solutions to complex social problems – using technology and information, talks about some of the issues that small and medium sized businesses come up against when trying to work with Local Government, as well as the … Continue reading “Working together to improve Services for the General Public: How can Small to Medium Sized Businesses and Local Government improve their interactions?”

Event: Engaging SME Tech Innovators with Local Government change agents – 11th May 2018, 10:30 – 16:30

“Have you created a digital solution to a really intransigent Local Government problem – something that saves money or helps vulnerable people? Have you been motivated – not by the bottom line – but by the fact that you care about public services? Do you want your innovation to get way more traction – to … Continue reading “Event: Engaging SME Tech Innovators with Local Government change agents – 11th May 2018, 10:30 – 16:30”

What Poverty really looks like in the UK

In 2012, the UK had a higher poverty rate than most EU member states. While poverty rates have declined since then, this progress is now at risk since policy changes under the 2017 Autumn Budget. UK Poverty 2017 underlines that “overall 14 million people live in poverty in the UK – over one in five … Continue reading “What Poverty really looks like in the UK”

Commonwealth 2022 – How to maximise the impact of Mega Events

The Commonwealth Games coming to Birmingham have the potential to be a catalyst for change, the challenge is to maximise that change within the demanding timescales. Looking to past mega events and evaluations can help us quickly adapt and adopt best practice and make decisions at speed. Yesterday morning I was part of a panel … Continue reading “Commonwealth 2022 – How to maximise the impact of Mega Events”

The new Tigger-like Philip Hammond: a bounce too far?

Along comes March 13 2018, and with Spring comes a new form of commentary by the Chancellor on the state of UK Plc. There was an obvious spring in this statement, driven by the slightly faster growth rate of the UK economy. There are perhaps two points to consider from the Spring statement. The first … Continue reading “The new Tigger-like Philip Hammond: a bounce too far?”

Part A: The Causes of Carillion’s Collapse

Racing to secure bids over rival construction companies, Carillion, the second-largest construction firm in the UK, hit a financial tipping point, lost the backing of the banks and collapsed. Its aggressive growth strategy and the diversification of its business portfolio increased the complexity of its internal structure. Coupled with poor oversight of its day-to-day operations, … Continue reading “Part A: The Causes of Carillion’s Collapse”

Brexit: Local and Devolved Government

This week the new report Brexit: Local and Devolved Government has been launched. The report considers not only what happened in the EU referendum itself but also the consequences of Brexit at the sub-national level. The report was launched to coincide with The UK in a Changing Europe’s conference Brexit: local and devolved government, which … Continue reading “Brexit: Local and Devolved Government”

Shaping apprenticeships to employer, economic and individual young people’s needs – does too much reform bring risks?

Apprenticeships have a long history in England. They have their roots in medieval craft guilds. Children went away to live with host families for the purpose of being taught the skills associated with a craft. The 1563 Statute of Artificers marked the first national system of apprenticeship training in England. The Statute required seven years … Continue reading “Shaping apprenticeships to employer, economic and individual young people’s needs – does too much reform bring risks?”