Protecting the public realm without shutting it down
As Martyn's Law approaches, this free special report from LocalGov and Hill & Smith sets out how councils can protect public spaces without shutting them down.
Cantle: Time to take cohesion much more seriously
16/06/2026 The author of a landmark report into disturbances in English towns in 2001 has said it is ‘time to take cohesion much more seriously'. |
Council leader speaks out against hatred ahead of Britain First march
20/02/2026 The leader of Manchester City Council has released a statement to help unite residents against the upcoming Britain First march this weekend. |
New Town of Culture contest set to boost local pride
19/01/2026 The Government is launching a new Town of Culture competition to celebrate the cultural legacies of UK towns. |
Backlash warning over asylum decentralisation
05/12/2025 Councils fear a backlash from far-right activists if responsibility for housing asylum seekers was moved to them from the Home Office, research has found. |
Local voices must be heard, warns survey
04/12/2025 The public want councils to be better resourced but are concerned their views are not heard, according to the results of a new survey. |
Government axes cohesion fund
30/09/2025 The Government has insisted it is ‘absolutely committed to bridging the divides between our communities' despite axing a cohesion fund. |
Call for Government to work with councils on cohesion
02/09/2025 Pleas have been made to the Government to work with councils amid violence and confrontations between rival protesters. |
Taskforce fails to recognise councils' key role in cohesion
27/08/2025 Ministers have been accused of failing to recognise the ‘vital role’ of councils in cohesion after deciding to limit a taskforce’s membership to mandarins. |
Judge temporarily bans new arrivals at Epping asylum hotel
18/08/2025 A judge has ordered a hotel not to accept any new applications from asylum seekers until his ruling on Epping Forest DC's request for a temporary injunction. |
Councils fear riots repeat
16/07/2025 Councils fear a repeat of last summer's riots without ‘significant government investment in community cohesion', a report has found. |
EXCLUSIVE: Whitehall review into summer riots will not be published
14/11/2024 An internal Whitehall review into the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government's response to the recent far-right violence will not be published. |
Councils in cohesion cash plea
10/10/2024 Councils have made a plea to the Government for powers and resources to bolster community cohesion in the face of the ongoing threat of extremism. |
Stronger Things: 'Go deeper to deal with the age of division'
04/06/2024 Using community power to tackle polarisation requires ‘going deeper and deeper until some of the falsehoods clear out’, New Local’s Stronger Things has heard. |
Councils 'struggling' to tackle cohesion threats
25/03/2024 Councils are struggling to tackle threats to social cohesion due to a lack of support from central government, according to a major new review. |
Councils warning over Prevent reforms
28/03/2023 Councils have raised serious concerns about the Government’s proposed Prevent counter-extremism strategy reforms. |
Council wins battle to ban anti LGBT protests
26/11/2019 Birmingham City Council has won a court battle to permanently ban anti-LGBT protests outside a local primary school. |
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Only 5% of council leaders optimistic about Brexit
29/10/2019 Councils are increasingly downbeat about the impact of Brexit, with nearly three quarters (71%) of chiefs expecting it to have a ‘negative’ or ‘very negative’ impact on their local economy. |
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Concern over councils' ability to cope with polls
17/04/2019 Council chiefs have raised concerns with Government about the sector’s capacity to run EU elections so close on the heels of local polls. |
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Five councils to help with Government integration plan
14/03/2018 The Government will work with five local authorities to develop integration plans as it develops a national strategy for England, it has announced today. |
