I am that rare and exotic species: a northern Tory. When George Osborne announced his ambition to build a Northern Powerhouse I cheered him on – finally, after years of neglect from successive southern-facing Governments, here was a Chancellor pledging to invest in the North of England. Read more
With the EU Referendum looming and Conservative divisions playing out daily in the media and Parliament, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne faces a real challenge to grab the headlines with this Budget.
Today’s guest DevoIntelligence blog comes from Dr Peter Kenway, director and co-founder of independent think tank New Policy Institute which focuses on local government finance, taxes and poverty.
Devolution cannot escape its context. If it had followed on the heels of the 2007 Lyons Inquiry, devolution would have been taking place at a time when the share of UK economic resources deployed by local government was approaching a post-1945 high. Read more
Over the years I have helped many people prepare for media interviews and I have been interviewed myself hundreds of times on tv, radio and with print media. Media interviews can be a great opportunity to get your message across but they can also go horribly wrong. I hope my advice on how to prepare and tips for doing interviews will help make sure your next media appearance is a triumph that you’ll want all your colleagues and friends to hear about. Read more
There will be huge implications for business if Britain exits from the EU following the 23rd June referendum.
The date has been set, the main political players have chosen sides, and the opinion polls are volatile. The outcome of the referendum vote is very unpredictable at this stage and UK businesses should start to prepare. Read more
This week the powerful Communities and Local Government Select Committee published its findings Devolution: the next five years and beyond after hearing evidence from a range of key devolution players including the interim Manchester mayor Tony Lloyd, Liverpool’s mighty mayor Joe Anderson, London’s Sir Eddie Lister, and Devo Minister James Wharton. What was the Committee’s verdict on the success of the Government’s devolution plans?
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Connect Account Manager James Moseley writes for PubAffairs on the week’s developments as Jeremy Corbyn talks Trident and the Falklands, Parliament debates Donald Trump, and infighting spreads through the Leave campaign and Labour HQ. The original article can be found here.
Connect’s 2016 graduate trainee programme is now open. For further details click here. Read more
Things are starting to get lively on the Devo front! A rash of star studded conferences and events are now on the fixture list and we have already seen one major Devo deal being struck in 2016: a deal which will see Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire work together under one elected Mayor for the North Midlands (not East Midlands!). Read more
devointelligence is our new weekly bulletin designed to keep you informed and aware of what’s happening in the Northern Powerhouse and beyond: who’s who and what’s what. It’s the time to switch on to the devolution revolution and get informed about the changing face of UK politics. Read the full devointelligence update online here. Read more
