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Nov 21, 2024 | 
cles.org.uk | Sarah Longlands
This article originally appeared in the Municipal Journal. Labour needs living standards to improve and, in last month’s Budget, chancellor Rachel Reeves again made the case for economic growth, wealth creation and opportunity for all, arguing that these were the only way to deliver that goal. But, if Labour is to win a second term, the economic step-change she is hoping for needs to be felt in communities across the country.
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Nov 20, 2024 | 
themj.co.uk | Sarah Longlands |Martin Ford |Dan Peters |Mark Sandford
Done properly, community wealth-building can provide the Government with a means to deliver their election pledge of change and to maximise the impact of that change on people and places. That was the clear message from the first of the Centre for Local Economic Strategies' (CLES) Community Wealth Building Conversation events earlier in the month.
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Oct 3, 2024 | 
cles.org.uk | Sarah Longlands
This article originally appeared in the Municipal Journal. Revaluing and restoring a strong and accountable local state will be essential if we are to ‘fix the foundations of Britain’s economy’. If ever there was an example of how disinvestment in local government and public services generally undermines our ability as a country to run an effective economy, it is the last 14 years of austerity.
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Sep 26, 2024 | 
themj.co.uk | Sarah Longlands
ECONOMIC GROWTH Building up from the local Sarah Longlands explains why investing in local government should be part of the national growth mission By Sarah Longlands | 26 September 2024 SHARE As local government gears up for the annual budgeting process, there is still no certainty the new Government in Westminster will be prepared to grasp the nettle on local authority finance.
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Jul 24, 2024 | 
cles.org.uk | Sarah Longlands
This article originally appeared in the Municipal Journal. I have been reminded of this conversation in recent weeks as planning reform has headlined Labour’s mission to boost economic growth. The current planning regime is being presented as a major brake on growth which needs reform in order to support the development of housing and infrastructure. “cut it down to size”But isn’t that what the Conservative government argued in their reform of the national planning policy framework back in 2011?
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Jul 24, 2024 | 
themj.co.uk | Guy Clifton |Sarah Longlands |Martin Ford |Steve Barwick
Earlier this year we reviewed just under 100 auditors' annual reports (AARs) produced for our local government audit clients for the 2022-23 audit year. AARs are the key annual deliverable relating to our value for money (VfM) audit work, and this sample represents approximately 30% of all councils in England. In total, the AARs we reviewed identified more than 700 areas for improvement and highlighted significant weaknesses in some councils' financial sustainability arrangements.
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Jul 24, 2024 | 
themj.co.uk | Sarah Longlands
PLANNING Planning for human welfare Sarah Longlands warns that simply cranking the planning dial further towards market liberalisation isn’t going to deliver the new Government’s ambitions, because the approach has already been tried and found to be wanting By Sarah Longlands | 24 July 2024 SHARE Years ago I asked a planner what it would mean to develop a plan which prioritised human welfare.
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May 29, 2024 | 
cles.org.uk | Sarah Longlands
This article originally appeared in the Municipal Journal. But the sight of Westminster politicians crowing about the numbers while steadfastly ignoring the lived reality that many families are still struggling to afford basics such as food, energy and rent, reveals how disconnected our national politicians are from life on the ground in our places. And the sense of unreality doesn’t stop there.
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May 28, 2024 | 
themj.co.uk | Sarah Longlands
By Sarah Longlands | 28 May 2024 The Government kicked off its election campaign last week on the back of much rejoicing about the latest inflation figures. It is clear to see some politicians are pinning their hopes on lower inflation equating to higher votes.
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May 3, 2024 | 
theguardian.com | Rafael Behr |Sarah Longlands |John McDonnell |Peter Kellner
Rafael Behr: The Tories haven’t yet plummeted to inconceivable depths – but they’re not far offLooking for a national picture in local council and byelection results always calls to mind the old joke about two drunkards scouring the pavement under a streetlamp. “Are you sure this is where you dropped your keys?” says one. “No,” says the other, “but this is where the light is.”In the zone of partial illumination things look bad for the Tories. They have already shed scores of council seats.
