Beyond the Leisure Centre: How to make the case for active wellbeing investment
This special report from LocalGov and Alliance Leisure makes the case for repositioning council leisure provision as prevention infrastructure.
Chiefs take charge
04/06/2026 Uncertainty at several local authorities as recent elections leave chief executives presiding over a changing political landscape. |
Half of teenagers uncertain about voting, Children's Commissioner warns
08/05/2026 Half of 13 to 17-year-olds either do not know which political party they would support at the next election or whether they would vote, new polling finds. |
Reform UK ousts Derbyshire deputy council leader in secret ballot
08/05/2026 Derbyshire County Council's Reform UK group has removed its deputy leader following a secret ballot of the party's councillors. |
Printing fault sees council distribute ballots by hand
07/05/2026 Cardiff Council has been required to deliver voting packs by hand following a printing error that resulted in nearly 1,400 ballots not reaching applicants. |
Prevention 'insufficiently embedded' in social care, says COSLA
28/04/2026 Scotland's social care system faces unsustainable strain, with services trapped in reactive crisis management rather than preventative support, COSLA warns. |
Greens propose council tax replacement
15/04/2026 The Scottish Greens have proposed replacing the current council tax with a residential property tax that would be more proportional to property values. |
Wales Green Party pledges ‘rent pressure zones’
09/04/2026 The Wales Green Party has pledged to allow local authorities to declare ‘rent pressure zones’ as part of its pitch ahead of the Senedd election in May. |
LocalGov Weekly Round Up
13/03/2026 William Eichler, editor of LocalGov.co.uk, reflects on the stories that captured readers’ attention this week. |
Councils urged to tackle family voting
10/03/2026 Councils have been challenged to focus on tackling family voting in May's local elections. |
Councils prepare for political turmoil
05/03/2026 Local government is braced for political turmoil after the Greens and Reform UK took first and second place in the Gorton and Denton by-election. |
Calls for local elections indemnity grow
27/02/2026 Further calls have been made to provide legal protection for returning officers after the Government backtracked on postponing May's elections. |
Local government reorganisation in Essex 'over'
25/02/2026 Uncertainty surrounds local government reorganisation (LGR) in Essex, with one leader branding the process ‘over' and little news on Thurrock's debt. |
Calls to indemnify officers after U-turn debacle
20/02/2026 Ministers are facing calls to indemnify returning officers as councils scramble to organise local elections following the Government’s postponement U-turn. |
Norfolk withdraws cooperation on LGR over elections debacle
17/02/2026 Norfolk CC’s leadership has withdrawn its cooperation with ministers to deliver local government reorganisation (LGR) following Steve Reed’s u-turn on postponed elections. |
Flexible voting options to be piloted during local elections
12/02/2026 Government has confirmed that a small number of councils will trial new flexible voting options at the local elections to make voting more accessible. |
Council leader ousted after election delay backlash
23/01/2026 Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council has removed its leader following political fallout over a request to postpone upcoming local elections. |
Reed confirms elections postponed for 29 councils
22/01/2026 The Government has confirmed that elections this year will be postponed for 29 local authorities as part of the push to reorganise local government. |
Elections could be postponed in reorganisation areas
19/12/2025 Councils undergoing local government reorganisation (LGR) could see elections postponed by a year. |
Government confirms mayoral election delays in four areas
04/12/2025 The Government has confirmed that it will be pushing back elections for mayors in four new strategic authorities by two years. |
Reform UK election challenge dismissed by High Court
22/10/2025 A Reform UK candidate who contested a tied local election result in Worcestershire has had her legal challenge dismissed by the High Court. |
Ballot error costs taxpayers £2,200
13/10/2025 Taxpayers in Birchington face a £2,200 bill following an election error that requires a re-run for the Birchington Parish Council (BPC). |
Labour conference: Growth could be derailed by Reform, warns Brabin
30/09/2025 West Yorkshire Mayor Tracy Brabin has warned Labour councillors that growth plans could be ‘derailed' in the event of big wins for Reform at the polls in May. |
Ministers axe elections holiday compensation
18/09/2025 Ministers have decided the Government will no longer reimburse electoral services staff if a late-notice General Election means they have to cancel holidays. |
Teenage Reform councillor vows to tackle crime
12/08/2025 Eighteen-year-old Sienna Churcher has become one of the youngest councillors in the UK after winning a by-election for Reform UK. |
Country’s youngest council leader appointed
23/07/2025 A Reform UK councillor has been confirmed as the country’s youngest permanent council leader. |
Election strategy sees voting age lowered by two years
18/07/2025 The Government has announced plans to allow 16-and 17-year-olds the right to vote in both local and general elections. |
Councils request delay to first mayoral election
17/07/2025 Cheshire and Warrington councils have requested that the area’s potential mayoral election be deferred by a year to reduce costs and increase turn out. |
Devo Bill to reintroduce supplementary vote in blow to Reform
10/07/2025 The supplementary vote system will be reintroduced to elect mayors in a move that is expected to reduce the chances of success for Reform UK. |
Ministers propose cancelling Surrey CC elections again
17/06/2025 Ministers have proposed cancelling Surrey CC elections for a second year as they launched a consultation on reorganisation options for the county. |
'Poor' awareness of election reforms
20/05/2025 There was ‘poor' awareness of extra measures to help disabled voters and those without ID in last year's General Election, according to an official report. |
MHCLG reshuffle after engagement improvements
04/04/2025 Engagement between the UK Government and councils has generally improved since Labour's General Election win, The MJ has been told. |
Confusion over unclear reorganisation picture
20/02/2025 Councillors in postponed elections could serve for just 12 months before fresh polls are held to new unitaries unless ministers pause voting again. |
Election reforms needed 'more than ever'
17/02/2025 Reform of how elections are run is needed now ‘more than ever', according to a new report. |
Ministry confirms 18 councils seeking election postponement
16/01/2025 The Government has officially revealed that it has received requests to postpone elections this year from 18 councils. |
Voters ‘set to be deprived of local democracy’
10/01/2025 The District Councils’ Network has warned that millions of voters will be ‘deprived of their local democracy’ due to plans to postpone some county council elections. |
Elections in limbo as devo deadline looms
06/01/2025 County councils across England will decide this week whether to ask the Government to postpone this year's elections in order to reorganise and pursue devolution. |
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. |
Counties delay peer challenges
06/11/2024 English county councils appear to be putting off inviting peer challenges from the Local Government Association (LGA) ahead of next year's elections. |
Admin issue could lead to repeat by-election
04/10/2024 A by-election might have to be repeated for a seat on Sandbach Town Council due to an administrative issue. |
‘Spreadsheet issue’ led to 6.5k vote election declaration error
19/07/2024 A ‘spreadsheet issue’ led to over 6,550 votes being excluded from the declaration of the election result in the Putney constituency at the general election. |
Council housing landlords warn of £2.2bn ‘black hole’
11/07/2024 Twenty of England’s largest local authority landlords have warned council housing finances are ‘unsustainable’ with housing budgets facing a £2bn ‘black hole’. |
PM appoints former Camden Council leader
10/07/2024 Former Camden Council leader Georgia Gould has been appointed as a parliamentary secretary in the Cabinet Office. |
Badenoch takes shadow communities role
09/07/2024 Kemi Badenoch has been named shadow communities secretary by opposition leader Rishi Sunak. |
Council offers to brief Farage on SEND pressures
09/07/2024 Essex CC has offered to brief Nigel Farage MP on special educational needs and disabilities issues after the Reform UK leader criticised the council. |
Rayner: Labour ready to ‘transfer power out of Whitehall’
09/07/2024 Deputy PM Angela Rayner is set to tell regional mayors that Labour is ready to ‘transfer power out of Whitehall’ through a major programme of devolution. |
Department ditches 'levelling up' moniker
08/07/2024 PM Keir Starmer has ditched Whitehall’s 'levelling up' department and re-named it with immediate effect – signalling an end to the controversial brand. |
NewGov: Think local Labour
08/07/2024 Jonathan Owen, chief executive of the National Association of Local Councils (NALC), discusses what parish and town councils want from the new government. |
Reeves: Labour set to bring back housebuilding targets
08/07/2024 Chancellor Rachel Reeves is expected to announce today that she will bring back compulsory housebuilding targets. |
Transforming Local Government: A Strategic Guide for Labour
05/07/2024 The new Labour Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has his work cut out. This is particularly the case where local government is concerned. |
Rayner named levelling up secretary
05/07/2024 Angela Rayner has been named secretary of state for levelling up, housing and communities. |
Badenoch accuses council of ‘potentially’ disenfranchising voters
05/07/2024 Outgoing business secretary Kemi Badenoch accused Uttlesford District Council of ‘potentially’ disenfranchising thousands of postal voters. |
Councillors celebrate General Election success
05/07/2024 A string of high-profile figures from the local government sector are celebrating victory in the General Election. |
Leaders call on Labour to act on social care
05/07/2024 Local government leaders have called on Labour to act to save social care following its thumping General Election victory. |
DLUHC team wipeout in Labour landslide
05/07/2024 The Conservative Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) team has faced a near wipe out in Labour’s election landslide. |
Councils at loggerheads with Royal Mail over postal vote delays
03/07/2024 Councils are at loggerheads with Royal Mail over responsibility for delays in delivering postal votes ahead of the General Election. |
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. |
Postal vote pressures threaten 'overload'
28/06/2024 A surge of demand for postal votes is threatening to leave people unable to take part in the General Election. |
Labour could bring in automatic voter registration
27/06/2024 It has been reported that Labour plans to introduce automatic voter registration (AVR) if elected next week. |
Build 90,000 social homes per year, party leaders told
20/06/2024 Charities and housing bodies have urged the major parties to commit to building 90,000 social homes per year over the next decade. |
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). |
More than a million apply for vote
11/06/2024 Council elections teams are facing a workload surge as they race to register voters in time for the General Election. |
NextGov: Revitalising local democracy
10/06/2024 Dr Jess Garland, director of Research and Policy for the Electoral Reform Society, looks at what the next government should do to revitalise local democracy. |
Two Liberal Democrat campaigners arrested
07/06/2024 Two Liberal Democrat campaigners have been arrested on suspicion of election offences relating to a North Yorkshire Council by-election in March. |
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. |
Devolution deal delayed due to election
03/06/2024 Council leaders in the North West have reaffirmed their commitment to achieving a devolution deal despite election delay. |
Gove steps down
28/05/2024 Levelling up secretary Michael Gove has stepped down ahead of the next election after nearly two decades as an MP. |
EXCLUSIVE: Tower Hamlets Best Value Inspection extended
28/05/2024 The Best Value Inspection (BVI) team at Tower Hamlets LBC has extended its work to include the council’s oversight of the General Election. |
Stoke-on-Trent council welcomes last-minute £20m levelling up funding
28/05/2024 Stoke-on-Trent City Council has welcomed the approval of £20m in Levelling Up Partnership funding, describing the last-minute decision as a ‘relief’. |
LGA axes conference due to election clash
24/05/2024 The Local Government Association (LGA) has officially cancelled its annual conference after Prime Minister Rishi Sunak called the General Election that clashed with the event. |
General Election brings raft of reforms
23/05/2024 Elections officers face a raft of reforms to implement as voters nationwide prepare to go to the polls in July. |
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. |
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. |
North Yorkshire consults on new town councils
14/05/2024 Residents of Harrogate and Scarborough are being consulted on plans to create town councils for both areas. |
Siân Berry quits London Assembly three days after re-election
08/05/2024 Green Party politician Siân Berry has stood down from the London Assembly just three days after she was re-elected. |
Government relents over broadening forms of voter ID
07/05/2024 Complaints were raised by ex-servicemen who were turned away at polling stations after attempting to produce veteran cards as proof of ID. |
Re-elected Burnham calls for Right to Buy suspension powers
07/05/2024 Greater Manchester’s re-elected mayor has called for powers to suspend Right to Buy on new homes under plans to build 10,000 houses across the region. |
Labour’s majority in Swindon biggest since 1990s
03/05/2024 Labour’s majority on Swindon Borough Council is now the largest it has been since the 1990s. |
Minister ‘sorry’ to veteran turned away from polling station over ID
03/05/2024 The veterans minister has apologised to a former soldier who said he was unable to vote using his veteran card as photo identification. |
Cambridge council deploys polling boot
02/05/2024 Cambridge residents were confronted with the unexpected site of a car marked ‘polling station’ when they went out to vote this morning. |
Vote warning
01/05/2024 Elections officers have warned of the impact of changes to postal vote rules as polls open across England and Wales on Thursday. |
Local elections: YouGov predicts ‘significant gains’ for Labour
01/05/2024 Local authorities across the North and Midlands could see significant Labour gains as voters head to the polls on Thursday, according to YouGov. |
Gove could launch police inquiry for Birmingham
01/05/2024 Reports the levelling up secretary could send a police chief in to investigate financial mismanagement in Birmingham City Council have resurfaced. |
What really caused the council funding crisis?
30/04/2024 Max Mosley, NIESR, explores the origins of the local government funding crisis and warns the next government will have to act quickly to address it. |
Will local government pick up the tab for increased defence spending?
30/04/2024 Cllr Graham Chapman, SIGOMA, looks at what the PM’s announcement of an increase in defence spending means for local authorities. |
What is voter ID?
29/04/2024 Voter ID is now required in many elections across the UK. But what is it and how does it work? |
Rayner to be investigated by police after electoral law accusations
15/04/2024 Police have launched an investigation into whether Labour’s shadow local government secretary Angela Rayner broke electoral law a decade ago after allegations. |
LocalGov Elections: Vote reformation
10/04/2024 Jonathan Werran, chief exec, Localis draws inspiration from a popular podcast on the Reformation to ponder the question of just how local are our politics. |
Labour set out plan to ‘breathe new life’ into high streets
10/04/2024 Labour has announced a five-point plan that it argues could ‘breathe new life’ into high streets. |
Khan pledges to build 6,000 ‘rent control’ homes
05/04/2024 London mayor Sadiq Khan will today commit to building homes with capped rents as part of his bid for re-election next month. |
Council chiefs receive cyber espionage warnings
04/04/2024 Council chiefs have been warned their email accounts, phones and computers will ‘almost certainly’ be targets for ‘cyber espionage’ before elections. |
What this year’s election could mean for housing
03/04/2024 Jonathan Pearson, director at Residentially, looks at what the coming election could mean for the future of affordable housing in the UK. |
Parties draw battlelines for local elections
28/03/2024 Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has given a speech in Dudley today following campaign launches by the Conservatives and Lib Dems. |
Elections on cyber alert
26/03/2024 Ministers have warned this year’s local and national elections are 'not business as usual’ – as councils prepare to tackle threats to voting security. |
'Victorian era' electoral registration failing voters, MPs warn
21/03/2024 The electoral registration system, which governs local elections in England, is ‘neither effective nor efficient’ and is disenfranchising millions, MPs warn. |
EXCLUSIVE: No pay offer until after local elections
14/03/2024 Local government employers will not make a pay offer until after the upcoming local elections in May, The MJ understands. |
Long-serving council leader to step down
12/03/2024 Sutton council leader Ruth Dombey, one of the longest-serving council leaders in the UK, has announced her intentions to step down. |
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. |
Union urges prospective MPs to back national care service
21/02/2024 Election candidates in the forthcoming general election are being urged to support the creation of a new national care service in England. |
Voter ID legal challenge launched
19/02/2024 A legal challenge has been mounted against the Government over voter ID requirements for elections. |
