WM REDI Has Partnered With the Industrial Strategy Council to Conduct Research on How Devolution Can Best Support the Levelling-up Agenda

In this blog, Ben Brittain and Dr Abigail Taylor discuss a new WM REDI project with the Industrial Strategy Council investigating governance and institutional arrangements, focusing particularly on the relationship between governance structures, policy levers and inclusive growth outcomes.  Local regions have been hard hit by the economic fallout of this pandemic. The extent of … Continue reading “WM REDI Has Partnered With the Industrial Strategy Council to Conduct Research on How Devolution Can Best Support the Levelling-up Agenda”

City-REDI / WM REDI Round Up – October 2020

Media engagements Professor Simon Collinson featured on Times Radio on the 22nd October 2020, talking about the impact of Coronavirus on Devolution. The interview starts at 01:36:50. Professor John Goddard was featured in an article called “Covid-19 surge on campuses ‘risks poisoning town-gown relations’” in the Times Higher. Dr Magda Cepeda Zorrilla has been shortlisted … Continue reading “City-REDI / WM REDI Round Up – October 2020”

Devolution and Local Recovery

Kevin Johnson, Managing Director of strategic communications firm Urban Communications, looks at the Government’s upcoming White Paper on Devolution. Will the government propose to increase powers for local authorities or continue a policy of delegation rather than devolution?  The Government is set to publish a White Paper this Autumn on Devolution. As well as building … Continue reading “Devolution and Local Recovery”

The Need for Greater Devolution in England to Respond to COVID-19

Welcome to REDI-Updates, a bi-annual publication which will get behind the data and translate it into understandable terms. West Midlands REDI staff and guest contributors will discuss various topics, with this first publication focusing on how inclusive growth can be a tool to tackle regional imbalances across the UK. In this article, Dr Charlotte Hoole … Continue reading “The Need for Greater Devolution in England to Respond to COVID-19”

New Report Released: Governance and Urban Development in Birmingham

For the past three years, an interdisciplinary (and international) team of geographers, political scientists and urban planners working across the universities of Birmingham and Zurich has been studying Birmingham’s urban development, governance, and social and economic trends from the year 2000 to present. Now, as our research project draws to a close, we have reached … Continue reading “New Report Released: Governance and Urban Development in Birmingham”

What is the State of Devolution Around the World?

Previous blogs in this devolution series have considered the political and economic benefits of devolving decision-making power, looked at the situation in England, with the new combined authorities and the office of the Mayor of London and the form devolution takes across in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The next blog in the series looks at … Continue reading “What is the State of Devolution Around the World?”

Devolution in the UK: A Look at Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland

  Previous blogs in this devolution series have considered the political and economic benefits of devolving decision-making power and looked at the situation in England, with the new combined authorities and the office of the Mayor of London. The countries of the Celtic fringe of the UK – namely Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland – also … Continue reading “Devolution in the UK: A Look at Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland”

What is the Extent of Devolution in England?

Across the UK there is a range of devolution models in operation. This blog will consider the form that devolution takes among the new combined authorities in England and the Greater London Authority in the capital. It is part of a series of blog looking at devolution and follows on from a previous blog asking … Continue reading “What is the Extent of Devolution in England?”

What Is the Point of Devolution?

It is not uncommon to hear that the UK is the most centralised country in the developed world. London utterly dominates the rest of the country to an extent that is quite remarkable. From politics to business, media to culture, the wealth and power of the UK is almost entirely within London’s orbit. Indeed, if … Continue reading “What Is the Point of Devolution?”

Brexit and the UK’s Regional and Urban Challenges

Brexit poses four direct challenges that relate to sub-national, regional and urban issues. First, it leads to an economic challenge in that the UK’s interregional inequalities are likely to become even greater than they currently are. Second, and consequent upon the first, is that Brexit also leads to a political challenge in that the expectations of voters … Continue reading “Brexit and the UK’s Regional and Urban Challenges”