How to Fix Local Roads: Sustainable Road Maintenance Solutions for Local Government
Explore expert insights on sustainable road maintenance and pothole repair, and learn how local government can fix the road network with proactive strategies.
Council chiefs warn of ‘corrosive impact’ of fake news
30/06/2025 Councillors have warned of the ‘dangers to democracy’ posed by fake news, as more than half say they have had misinformation published about them. |
New councillors appointed after mass resignation
26/06/2025 Four councillors have been appointed to a town council after all of its members quit. |
Reorganisation could wipe out 90% of councillors
25/06/2025 Local government reorganisation could result in the loss of nine-in-10 councillors and threaten local democracy, according to the think tank Localis. |
Job listing creates discord amongst council leaders
12/06/2025 Gloucester City Council (GCC) is facing backlash for advertising a job role that allegedly sells a ‘political agenda’. |
Councillors vote in favour of work-life balance
21/05/2025 Redcar and Cleveland councillors have backed a motion calling for some committee meetings to be moved to the evenings on weekdays. |
Learning from the locals
06/05/2025 Jonathan Werran, chief executive of Localis, reflects on the results of the local elections. |
Reform takes six councils from Tories
03/05/2025 Nigel Farage's Reform UK party has taken six councils from the Conservatives and control of Durham so far in the local elections. |
Reform gains in English local elections
02/05/2025 Labour has held onto key mayoralties even though it looks like Nigel Farage's Reform UK will make significant gains in local elections across England. |
Councillor resigns after indecent exposure guilty plea
17/03/2025 Leader calls for councils to be empowered to remove politicians who commit crimes after resignation of a councillor who pleaded guilty to indecent exposure. |
McMahon hints over councillor suspension power
12/03/2025 Local government minister Jim McMahon has hinted he will push ahead with handing councils the power to suspend councillors before they have been convicted. |
Disgraced councillor told to resign
12/03/2025 Disgraced Redbridge councillor Sam Gould has been urged to resign after pleading guilty to indecently exposing himself to a 13-year-old girl. |
CCN: Planning legislation would ‘dilute’ local oversight
11/03/2025 Legislation aimed at speeding up planning decisions would ‘dilute’ the role of councillors on planning committees, warns the County Council Network (CCN). |
New rules at district after ‘inappropriate behaviour’
26/02/2025 Teignbridge District Council has agreed to adopt a ‘zero-tolerance’ approach to swearing and abusive behaviour after auditors criticised the behaviour of some members. |
Council leader stands down to focus on LGA role
25/02/2025 Cllr Joe Harris, the leader of Cotswold District Council, has announced he is stepping down to focus on his Local Government Association (LGA) role. |
Councillor quits after tax arrears revealed
24/02/2025 A Lancashire councillor has resigned after it was revealed he owed almost £4,000 in council tax. |
Councillor barred from budget vote over unpaid tax
20/02/2025 A borough councillor in Lancashire owes almost £4,000 in council tax, making him unable to vote on the authority’s budget. |
First leader of North Northants to step down
20/02/2025 The first leader of North Northamptonshire Council has announced he is stepping down at the local elections in May to ‘transition into semi-retirement’. |
Staffordshire mayor dies after car crash
17/02/2025 The mayor of Newcastle-under-Lyme has died following a road accident last Thursday. |
Investigation after ‘wrestling match’ at council meeting
14/02/2025 A hearing will be held at Darlington Borough Council next week after a heated row between two councillors descended into a ‘wrestling match’. |
Poor behaviour getting worse, survey finds
12/02/2025 Poor behaviour among councillors and officers is getting worse, according to a survey by senior officers' organisation Solace. |
Labour suspends 11 councillors over WhatsApp chat
12/02/2025 The Labour Party has suspended 11 councillors who had joined a WhatsApp chat at the centre of a scandal over offensive messages. |
Three Tameside councillors ‘step away’ over WhatsApp scandal
11/02/2025 Three councillors will ‘step away’ from their roles at Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council after they were caught up in a scandal over a leaked WhatsApp chat. |
Peer warning over councillor financial understanding
04/02/2025 Not all 39 councillors at a Nottinghamshire council are fully getting to grips with the financial challenges for the local authority, peer review has warned. |
Councillor jailed after ‘campaign of intimidating behaviour’
31/01/2025 A Torridge District Council member will face prison after he was found guilty of harassment. |
Pembrokeshire could lose 68 councillors
30/01/2025 The number of town and community councillors in Pembrokeshire could be cut by 10% following a review by Wales’ Democracy and Boundary Commission. |
Tory group leader quits party after police called to town hall
03/01/2025 The Conservative group leader of Oldham Council has resigned from the party after police were called amid a row at a town hall meeting. |
20 councillors in Nottinghamshire quit Labour
03/01/2025 Some 20 members of Broxtowe Borough Council, including the leader, have left the Labour Party in protest against Keir Starmer’s leadership. |
Deal reached after mayor launched legal case against own council
20/12/2024 Newham LBC has struck a £36,000 deal with its directly-elected executive mayor Rokhsana Fiaz after reaching an out-of-court settlement over race and sex discrimination claims. |
Police called amid row at town hall
19/12/2024 Police officers were called to Oldham Council on Wednesday after a meeting was suspended when a row broke out. |
Councils could get new powers to suspend members
19/12/2024 Councils could get new powers to suspend councillors found to have breached their code of conduct under new government proposals. |
Call to break up Scotland’s largest council
12/12/2024 Highland Council members have called for the local authority, Scotland’s largest by geographical area, to be broken up. |
Leader resigns after ‘inappropriate behaviour’ reported to police
09/12/2024 The City of Edinburgh Council’s leader has resigned after Police Scotland revealed it was investigating a report of ‘inappropriate behaviour’. |
Newcastle leader faces no confidence vote
03/12/2024 The leader of Newcastle City Council is facing a vote of no confidence after just two months running the authority. |
Notts leader steps down after ‘challenging’ year
07/11/2024 The leader of Nottinghamshire County Council has announced he is stepping down from the role after a ‘challenging’ year. |
Rayner: Bullying councillors could face suspension
24/10/2024 Councils could soon be able to suspend members who violate codes of conduct and will no longer be required to publish councillor addresses, Rayner says. |
Disgraced peer Hanningfield dies
22/10/2024 Former leader of Essex CC and peer Lord Hanningfield has died. |
One in five councillors threatened with violence
21/10/2024 More than a fifth of councillors in a new Local Government Association (LGA) survey said they had received a threat of violence in their role. |
Labour intervenes at Tameside
15/10/2024 The leader of Tameside MBC has resigned after Labour took steps to directly intervene over ‘unacceptable working practices' at the authority. |
Islington Council leader steps down
11/10/2024 The leader of Islington Council, Cllr Kaya Comer-Schwartz, has announced that she will be stepping down. |
Councillors accused of ‘not seriously considering’ recommendations
03/10/2024 Auditors have accused Dudley Council members of ‘not seriously considering’ the recommendations of officers when it came to the council’s financial position. |
Newcastle set for first female leader
02/10/2024 Newcastle City Council is set to appoint its first female leader, while calls have come for an inquiry into issues with the authority's political leadership. |
More than £2m needed to sort Welsh recycling scheme
30/09/2024 Senior Denbighshire CC members will be asked to plough more than £2m into a recycling scheme that has led to ‘unacceptable' numbers of missed collections. |
East Suffolk pledges to tackle abuse
27/09/2024 East Suffolk Council has committed to challenging the abuse or intimidation of its members and officers. |
Council backs proposals to increase number of members
23/09/2024 Proposals to increase the number of Cumberland Council councillors by around 20% have been backed. |
Peers find 'blurred' responsibilities between officers and members
17/09/2024 Ashfield DC must resolve issues with the ‘blurred' responsibilities of members and officers, a report from the Local Government Association has said. |
Council group leader dies at Lib Dem conference
17/09/2024 The leader of the Liberal Democrat group at Milton Keynes City Council died at the party’s annual conference on Saturday evening. |
Newcastle leader steps back due to ill health
16/09/2024 The leader of Newcastle City Council has taken a temporary leave of absence due to ill health. |
Cash-strapped council axes top member roles
22/08/2024 Somerset Council, which has declared a ‘financial emergency’, is cutting several senior member roles to save £36,000. |
LGA: Minister’s stance on hybrid meetings ‘encouraging’
19/08/2024 The Local Government Association (LGA) has said it was ‘encouraging’ that the new Government signalled an openness to discussing hybrid council meetings. |
Residents vote to dissolve town council
14/08/2024 Voters in two north Yorkshire villages have come out overwhelmingly in favour of dissolving the local town council following allegations of bullying. |
Councillor charged with encouraging violent disorder
09/08/2024 A Dartford councillor has been charged with encouraging violent disorder after he was filmed addressing a crowd at a London demonstration on Wednesday. |
Councillor arrested over protest remarks
09/08/2024 A councillor has been arrested on suspicion of encouraging murder after comments at a counter-protest in London this week. |
Barking and Dagenham leader to step down
16/07/2024 The leader of Barking and Dagenham London Borough Council has announced he is standing down from the role after 10 years. |
Council introduces DBS checks for members
11/07/2024 West Northamptonshire Council will require all members to receive Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks. |
New MP to resign as council leader
10/07/2024 Newly elected MP Vikki Slade will stand down as leader of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council. |
Call for chief to resign over postal vote error
02/07/2024 The chief executive of Uttlesford DC is facing a call to resign following delays to the delivery of postal votes. |
Plaque unveiled for country’s longest serving councillor
28/06/2024 A memorial plaque has been installed in Peterborough in honour of a man who served on the city council for 62 years. |
Councils and NHS row over Better Care Fund use
18/06/2024 Some Integrated Care Boards are seeking to challenge the parts of the Better Care Fund earmarked for social care funding, LGA councillors have been told. |
Birmingham councillor becomes West Midlands deputy mayor
17/06/2024 The deputy leader of Birmingham City Council has been appointed as the deputy mayor of the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA). |
Council hires security after meeting disruption
11/06/2024 A town council in Norfolk has brought in a security firm to maintain order at its meetings. |
Barking council leader dropped as election candidate
05/06/2024 Barking and Dagenham Council leader Darren Rodwell has been removed from the list of candidates being considered by the Labour Party for the general election. |
Councillors quit Labour over Shaheen, Abbot and Gaza
04/06/2024 Seven councillors in Slough have resigned from Labour citing as the reason the treatment of Faiza Shaheen and Diane Abbot and the party’s position on Gaza. |
EXCLUSIVE: LGA starts to shift on standards
04/06/2024 Senior Local Government Association (LGA) figures expect the organisation’s reluctance to beefing up the standards regime to shift after the General Election. |
Council staff 'live in fear of abuse, assault or worse'
03/06/2024 Council staff and members often live ‘in fear of abuse, assault or worse,’ experts have warned. |
Hoare: We still want productivity plans
30/05/2024 Local government minister Simon Hoare has insisted he still wants councils to draw up unpopular productivity plans despite the election, The MJ understands. |
Labour suspends councillor who backed Corbyn
28/05/2024 The Labour Party has suspended an Islington councillor who declared his support for Jeremy Corbyn in the upcoming General Election. |
High Court dismisses Bibby Stockholm legal challenge
23/05/2024 The High Court has dismissed a legal case challenging the Government’s controversial use of the Bibby Stockholm barge to house asylum seekers off the coast. |
Bristol councillor ‘absolutely gutted’ after disqualification
22/05/2024 A Labour councillor in Bristol has been disqualified less than three weeks after being elected because she teaches at a council-run school. |
Housing crisis has become ‘significantly worse’ in past year
21/05/2024 Three-quarters of councillors believe the housing crisis has become significantly worse in the past year, according to a major survey of planning authorities in England and Wales. |
Hampshire leader announces abrupt resignation
16/05/2024 The leader of Hampshire County Council has announced he is standing down next week after two years in the role. |
New boundaries in Coventry, Surrey and Staffordshire council areas
15/05/2024 Coventry City Council’s wards will be altered and boundary divisions for Surrey and Staffordshire county councils are also set to change. |
Poll reveals low levels of trust in councillors
23/04/2024 Just over 40% of people in England trust their local councillors to work in the best interests of people in local areas, a new survey has revealed. |
Devon County Council’s long-serving leader steps down
18/04/2024 The leader of Devon County Council has said it is the ‘right time’ to leave the post after 15 years. |
Watchdog tells Falkirk to confront 'difficult decisions'
17/04/2024 Falkirk Council faces ‘difficult decisions’ to bridge a budget gap of tens of millions, according to Audit Scotland. |
Council to announce chief after capacity criticism
15/04/2024 East Devon DC is hoping to announce its new chief executive early next month after peers said senior level capacity was currently ‘limited’. |
LGA calls for powers to withhold members’ address
03/04/2024 Council leaders have repeated their call for legislation enabling councils to withhold councillors' home addresses amid fears of abuse and intimidation. |
'Business as usual' for Lancashire councillors despite resignations
02/04/2024 Councillors in Lancashire have insisted it will be ‘business as usual’ despite 20 resignations in protest at the leadership of the national Labour party. |
Officer-councillor tensions affecting outcomes, review finds
20/03/2024 Tensions between Teignbridge DC’s executive and senior leadership team are ‘inhibiting progress and damaging the council’s reputation,’ review warns. |
Oldham Council celebrates 175th birthday
14/03/2024 Oldham Council has celebrated the borough's 175th birthday at an event in the central library. |
Leader of cash-strapped Notts council to step down
12/03/2024 The leader of financially stricken Nottingham City Council has announced he is stepping down in May. |
Reading BC leader steps down
07/03/2024 The leader of Reading Borough Council has announced his intention to stand down ahead of the local elections in May. |
Prospective councillors told to campaign for MP
04/03/2024 Tory councillors in North Northamptonshire have been told they must do 30 sessions of canvassing if they want to stand in the upcoming local elections. |
Scottish Budget 'not good' for communities
28/02/2024 Next year’s Scottish Budget is ‘not good’ for communities, council leaders have said. |
Orkney names Scotland's youngest council leader
21/02/2024 Orkney Islands Council has appointed Cllr Heather Woodbridge as Scotland's youngest local authority leader. |
Officer-member relations ‘fractured’ at Wrexham
01/02/2024 Issues in Wrexham County Borough Council’s planning service mean it is hindered in fulfilling its role, an audit has found. |
Councillor quits Labour over its Israel-Gaza stance
31/01/2024 A Merton councillor has resigned from Labour over the party’s stance on the war in Gaza. |
LGA calls for powers to withhold councillors' address
10/01/2024 Monitoring officers should be allowed to withhold councillors’ home addresses from public registers to help tackle rising levels of abuse and hate, Smith Square has said. |
Eight Hastings councillors quit Labour
19/12/2023 Eight members of Hastings Borough Council, including its leader, have resigned from the Labour Party. |
'Unacceptable culture' at East Devon
19/12/2023 An auditor heard bullying allegations among evidence that ‘cultural issues’ at East Devon DC saw officers leave and members decide not to stand for re-election. |
Norfolk devolution schedule delayed
04/12/2023 Norfolk’s level 3 devolution deal is set to be pushed back to 2025. |
28 Durham councillors lost in proposed boundary change
04/12/2023 Changes proposed by the Local Government Boundary Commission (LGBC) would see the loss of 28 councillors in County Durham. |
LGA responds to councillor’s ceasefire email
21/11/2023 The LGA has spoken out after a councillor threatened to name locally elected members who did not sign up to support a ceasefire in Israel and Gaza. |
Burnley councillors quit over Starmer’s position on Gaza
06/11/2023 Burnley Borough Council's leader and nine other councillors at the authority have left the Labour Party over Keir Starmer's stance on the conflict in Israel and Gaza. |
Labour’s 13-year Oxford reign ends after ninth resignation
30/10/2023 Labour has lost its majority on Oxford City Council after a ninth councillor resigned from the party over its stance on the conflict in Israel and Gaza. |
Starmer writes to councillors over Gaza comment
19/10/2023 Sir Keir Starmer has written to Labour councillors after a number of resignations following his comments on the conflict in Gaza. |
Welsh government urged to improve diversity in local politics
17/10/2023 Women, ethnic minorities, and people with disabilities are under-represented in Welsh local government, according to a new Senedd committee report. |
Labour councillors resign over Starmer’s Gaza comment
16/10/2023 Two Oxford City Council members have resigned from Labour in protest over Sir Keir Starmer's response to the conflict in Israel and Gaza. |
Dorset eyes cross-boundary devolution bid
09/10/2023 Dorset Council is looking beyond its borders for potential partners in a devolution deal bid. |
Gove attacks four-day week 'nonsense' in conference speech
03/10/2023 Local government secretary Michael Gove delivered a speech to the Conservative Party Conference light on new policies and laden with election slogans. |
Council leaders create roadmap for a Starmer government
26/09/2023 A plan for a future Labour administration to ‘reform public services and rebuild trust’ has been drawn out by local authority leaders. |
