Printing fault sees council distribute ballots by hand
Councillor found in breach of code of conduct over disrespectful comments
Former council leader Dame Shirley Porter dies aged 95
Mayor steps into chief executive row with Reform UK councillors
Digital Transformation, AI and Local Government: The Case for Workforce Upskilling
The new LocalGov and Multiverse report explores how workforce upskilling is driving smarter, more efficient, and inclusive local government transformation.
LGA fails to restore collective bargaining for coroner pay
05/05/2026 The Local Government Association (LGA) has been unable to reestablish collective bargaining to agree pay for coroners. |
Council staff face abuse over flag removal policy
05/05/2026 A council is reporting a surge in abuse, harassment and intimidation directed at staff linked to the removal of unauthorised flags from street furniture. |
Bodycams rolled out to support safety of Staffordshire road workers
01/05/2026 Staffordshire County Council’s highways crews have been equipped with bodycams to help protect them from threatening behaviour. |
EXCLUSIVE: 'Illegal' deal to end Birmingham strike risks £200m equal pay bill
30/04/2026 Birmingham City Council could open itself up to equal pay liabilities worth £200m if a proposed deal unveiled by leader Cllr John Cotton goes ahead. |
Reform council refuses to name recipient of £455k exit pay-out
28/04/2026 Reform UK-led Staffordshire CC has remained tight-lipped over reason for a £457,000 pay off made under the previous Conservative administration to an officer. |
Doncaster chief exec threatens legal action over Reform UK motion
28/04/2026 City of Doncaster Council chief executive Damian Allen has threatened legal action against the leader and deputy leader of the council's Reform UK group. |
'End in sight' for Birmingham strike
27/04/2026 After more than a year of industrial action, Birmingham CC's leader John Cotton has tabled an offer he believes will ‘end the strike once and for all'. |
PPMA 2026: Call to rethink statutory roles
27/04/2026 Local government should redefine the role of statutory officers, amid suggestions the role of HR director could be made statutory. |
Combined authority holds landmark first board meeting
23/04/2026 The newly formed Cheshire and Warrington Combined Authority (CWCA) has held its inaugural board meeting, marking a significant moment for the region. |
Late councillor commemorated by Essex authorities
23/04/2026 Local authorities have paid tribute to a councillor in Essex who has passed away unexpectedly at aged 80. |
Nottingham taxi scheme supports careers of women drivers
21/04/2026 A city council has backed a movement to increase the number of female taxi drivers in Nottingham, following a call from the founder of a women-led taxi and private hire drivers alliance. |
LGA interim chief revealed
17/04/2026 Former Camden LBC chief Jenny Rowlands is to take on the role of interim chief of the Local Government Association (LGA), The MJ can reveal. |
EXCLUSIVE: Dramatic fall in LGA staff morale revealed
16/04/2026 Morale among LGA employees fell dramatically during the year leading up to restructuring though problems were mounting as far back as 2024. |
Bury Council election cancelled following candidate's death
16/04/2026 A local election in Bury has been cancelled after the death of one of the candidates standing in the Moorside ward. |
Stafford trio join Churchill in borough's highest honour
15/04/2026 Stafford Borough Council has unanimously voted to award its highest honour to three individuals in recognition of their service to the area. |
EXCLUSIVE: Two unions reject pay offer
15/04/2026 Trade unions Unison and Unite have both rejected the employers' offer of a 3.3% pay increase. |
Record number of council staff earning over £100k
14/04/2026 A record 4,733 local authority employees across the UK received total remuneration of more than £100,000 in 2024-25, according to a new analysis. |
LGPS performing well, pension advisers say
07/04/2026 The Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) is performing well and managing risk responsibly during a time of economic uncertainty, according to pension advisers Hymans Robertson. |
Sector mourns loss of 'giant of English devolution'
07/04/2026 Tributes have been paid to the former chief executive of Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA), Eamonn Boylan in the wake of his death. |
Councils apologise for poll card ‘confusion’
07/04/2026 Braintree DC and Essex CC have issued a joint apology after poll cards sent to voters across the district named the wrong council. |
Teachers win £15m in compensation claims
02/04/2026 Teachers received over £15m in compensation for successful claims, including one which involved a six-figure payout for a teacher who was hit by a toaster. |
Court sentences man involved in council officer assault
01/04/2026 A man responsible for assaulting a Flintshire County Council officer has now received a court sentence. |
Warning: Fake beach hut listings target coastal hopefuls
01/04/2026 Aspiring beach hut owners are being urged by a Kent council to exercise extreme caution as scammers target those seeking a slice of the local coastline. |
Oxfordshire issues legal warning over unauthorised flags
31/03/2026 Oxfordshire CC has issued a formal legal notice to the group ‘Raise the Colours’ following the unauthorised installation of flags on highway infrastructure. |
Call for trading standards funding as high street branded ‘lawless’
31/03/2026 Local government reorganisation represents an opportunity to properly fund trading standards and stop ‘dangerous goods’ being sold on high streets, says CTSI. |
Commission demands end to candidate abuse ahead of May polls
30/03/2026 Electoral Commission has issued a plea for respectful debate in the run up to the local elections in May following ‘unacceptable’ levels of intimidation. |
Sarah Ferguson stripped of City of York honour
27/03/2026 City of York Council has voted to strip Sarah Ferguson of the freedom of the city due to her links to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. |
Councillor set to make history as Oxford's first Black Lord Mayor
24/03/2026 Cllr Chewe Munkonge is set to become the first Black Lord Mayor of Oxford, following an announcement made at a full council meeting this week. |
Barnet Council condemns antisemitic arson attack
23/03/2026 The leader of Barnet Council has condemned an antisemitic arson attack on ambulances belonging to Jewish volunteer emergency service Hatzola in Golders Green. |
Unite fined £265k over Birmingham bin strike injunction breaches
18/03/2026 Birmingham CC has welcomed a High Court ruling that fines the trade union Unite £265,000 for breaching an injunction during the long-running bin strike. |
Former local government minister Phil Woolas dies
16/03/2026 Former local government minister Phil Woolas has died, his family has announced. |
Recruitment challenges restricting pace of Sandwell improvement, peers find
13/03/2026 Recruitment challenges are hindering continued improvement at Sandwell Council, a Local Government Association corporate peer challenge review has warned. |
Library staff numbers halved since 2010, says UNISON
12/03/2026 Nearly half of England’s library staff have been lost since 2010, leaving services stretched after years of austerity, according to new research from UNISON. |
Coventry sets aside £27m to cover potential equal pay claims
09/03/2026 Coventry CC has set aside £9m a year over the next three years to cover the potential financial impact of ongoing equal pay claims from female employees. |
'Widespread lack of understanding' to blame for key worker oversight
03/03/2026 Failure to recognise council employees as key workers during the pandemic must be reviewed as part of planning for future emergencies, Covid inquiry told. |
LGA to look into scale of £100k salary sign off burden
26/02/2026 The Local Government Association (LGA) is to look into the scale of the burden of members having to sign off salary packages worth more than £100,000. |
EXCLUSIVE: Pay spine review kicks off
26/02/2026 Work has started on a review of the national pay scale used to determine salaries for most council employees in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. |
Parish councillor honoured for ‘transformative’ local impact
26/02/2026 A parish councillor for North Cerney Parish Council has received a Councillor of the Year award. |
Shetland civic head banned from company directorship over unpaid taxes
25/02/2026 The civic head of Shetland Islands Council has been disqualified from acting as a company director after her pub business failed to pay over £170,000 in taxes. |
Deputy leader apologises for sharing violent post about MP
25/02/2026 The deputy leader of Lancashire County Council has apologised after sharing a Facebook post which said a Labour MP ‘should be shot’. |
Camden celebrates strides in workforce inclusivity scheme
24/02/2026 Camden Council has reached its goal of producing one hundred accessible employment opportunities in one hundred days. |
Reform UK plans to scrap defined benefit council pensions
24/02/2026 Reform UK would scrap defined benefit pension schemes for new council employees, according to Richard Tice MP. |
Over 1,000 councillors sign ‘Pledge for Palestine’
23/02/2026 More than 1,000 local councillors across Britain have signed a ‘Pledge for Palestine’ ahead of key local elections in May, campaigners say. |
South Ayrshire Council could consider job cuts in new workforce plan
20/02/2026 South Ayrshire Council has revealed that workforce changes will be unavoidable as part of the measures required to close its budget gap. |
Council-run education catering services face mounting pressures, research finds
19/02/2026 Over 60% of councils that cater for schools have cited final pressures as the key driver for undertaking a catering service review, a survey has found. |
Salford loses ‘giant of local government’
19/02/2026 David Lancaster, a Salford councillor believed to have been the longest-serving councillor in England, has passed away. |
Planning enforcement delays undermining trust, Ombudsman says
17/02/2026 Prolonged delays in local authority planning enforcement are leaving unlawful developments in place and undermining public trust, watchdog says. |
Local authority craft workers consider strike action
17/02/2026 Over a thousand local authority craft workers are set to be balloted for strike action after receiving what the Unite calls an ‘unsatisfactory pay offer’. |
Public libraries face volunteering workforce pressures
17/02/2026 A new report has warned that England’s public libraries face mounting workforce and infrastructure pressures as volunteering continues to expand. |
Peer suspended due to past contact with convicted councillor
11/02/2026 A peer has been suspended from Labour's parliamentary party due to his connections to a disgraced councillor. |
