Local Government On The Precipice

The Department for Communities and Local Government  yesterday announced the English local government funding settlement for 2014/15. By any definition it is a disaster for Councils and in many areas of the country sounds the death knell for democratic local services as we have known them.

90% vote to back New LGPS for England & Wales

UNISON members across England and Wales have voted 90.2% in favour of accepting the proposed changes to the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS).

Key Facts About LGPS 2014 Proposals and LGPS Members

Following the decision at last month’s Local Government Service Group Conference, UNISON England and Wales branches and regions are conducting a widespread consultation with members over the LGPS 2014 proposals. This will inform the national union’s recommendation in the postal ballot of members which is due to start on 31 July (ending 24 August). Key facts to be taken into account in the consultation are:

English devolution back on Labour's agenda?

In a keynote speech today Ed Miliband said that the Labour Party had been ‘too reluctant to talk about England in recent years. We have concentrated on shaping a new politics for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland’ and committed to ‘continue devolving powers to English local authorities and away from
London’.
  Whether this amounts to a resurgence of a Labour Party regional agenda in England - which was disastrously derailed by the North East regional Assembly referendum in 2004 - remains to be see? The current issue of Red Pepper includes a radical proposal by Paul Salveson for an elected Regional Assembly for the whole of the North of England ‘to counter the economic and political dominance of the south east and build strong economic and cultural relationships with the increasingly confident and autonomous Scots and Welsh’ – ay-up that sounds like a good idea! http://www.redpepper.org.uk/a-voice-for-the-north/

Election Analysis - Trapdoors and golden gateways

Many council election results in England are yet to declare but the emerging picture is that Labour can’t afford to be complacent. So far there have been some Liberal Democrat scalps claimed in places like Hull and Sheffield, with losses to knock the Liberal Democrats off overall control in places like Stockport and Bristol.