VE Day: Council duties under the Armed Forces Covenant
As we mark the 80th anniversary of VE Day, Geoff Wild, Legal & Governance Consultant, looks at the duties of councils under the Armed Forces Covenant.
Women face ‘stark underrepresentation’ in manual roles
07/05/2025 Women still face low employment rates in manual or maintenance roles in local government despite a number of councils making positive changes. |
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. |
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. |
Charity says 10,000 children have fallen into poverty under Labour
07/10/2024 The two-child benefit cap has pushed 10,000 children into poverty since the Labour Government took office, new research has found. |
Labour pledges £15m to support 300 new nurseries
26/09/2024 Three hundred nurseries will be opened by next September to help address the rising demand for childcare, Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson announces. |
Starmer defeated in winter fuel payment vote
25/09/2024 The Labour leadership has lost a union-sponsored motion at the party’s conference that called on ministers to reverse the cuts to winter fuel payments. |
Starmer issues veterans housing pledge
24/09/2024 Sir Keir Starmer has pledged to ‘house all veterans in housing need' in his first speech to the Labour Party Conference as Prime Minster today. |
Reeves says 'no return to austerity'
23/09/2024 Chancellor Rachel Reeves has vowed ‘there will be no return to austerity' at the Labour Party Conference. |
Rayner hints at 'fairer' Right to Buy
23/09/2024 Deputy prime minister Angela Rayner has hinted at incoming curbs on Right to Buy at the Labour Party Conference. |
Labour scraps counties' devo deals
13/09/2024 Norfolk and Suffolk CCs have revealed the new Labour Government has scrapped the directly-elected county leader devolution deals agreed with the Conservatives. |
Devolution ‘essential’ to Labour's growth mission
25/07/2024 Devolution reforms will be essential if Labour is to fulfil its mission of nationwide growth, a new report has argued. |
Councillor quits Labour over Starmer’s Bangladesh comment
28/06/2024 A Tower Hamlets councillor has left the Labour Party over a reference Keir Starmer made to Bangladesh in relation to illegal immigration. |
All change
27/06/2024 Cheshire West and Chester leader Louise Gittins has emerged as the frontrunner to be the next chair of the Local Government Association, The MJ understands. |
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. |
Labour will need to back up strategic planning 'with teeth'
27/06/2024 Labour’s proposed push for a return to strategic planning will need to be ‘backed up with teeth’, an expert has suggested. |
Labour manifesto pledges Right to Buy curbs
13/06/2024 Labour has opened the door to reining in Right to Buy in its manifesto, published today. |
Growth at heart of LGA White Paper
03/06/2024 The Local Government Association (LGA) has called for powers and funding so that councils can take a leading role in driving inclusive growth. |
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. |
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. |
Labour-commissioned report calls for cap on rent rises
14/05/2024 Rent rises should be capped to help millions of struggling renters in England and Wales, a new report commissioned by Labour argues. |
Mayors meet to hear growth plans
13/05/2024 Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has summoned his party’s newly-elected mayors for a meeting to detail his plans for economic growth. |
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. |
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. |
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. |
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. |
Sheriff of Nottingham suspended from Labour
07/03/2024 The only Nottingham City councillor to vote against budget cuts has been suspended from the Labour Party. |
Rayner floats three-year pay deal
14/02/2024 An incoming Labour Government could throw its weight behind a longer-term pay deal for the sector to avoid the embarrassment of strikes, well-placed sources have suggested. |
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. |
Labour outlines plans to boost attendance
09/01/2024 Local authorities would be required to keep a register of all children not in school under a Labour government, the shadow education secretary announced today. |
Eight Hastings councillors quit Labour
19/12/2023 Eight members of Hastings Borough Council, including its leader, have resigned from the Labour Party. |
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. |
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. |
Labour U-turns on support for clean air zones
14/08/2023 Labour has scrapped its public support for ULEZ-style clean air zones across the country. |
LGA: Social care must remain 'rooted’ at local level
08/06/2023 Social care must remain 'rooted in local government' council leaders have warned, to make sure it is democratic and accountable. |
Questions over council land purchase proposals
30/05/2023 Labour's proposed legislation would allow councils to buy land at agricultural values using compulsory purchase orders. |
Green belt building could deliver 150,000 new homes
25/05/2023 Plans by the Labour Party to allow building on green belt land could result in more than 150,000 new homes, analysis has suggested. |
New leader for Brum after Labour ousts Ward
22/05/2023 The national Labour Party has selected Cllr John Cotton as the new leader of Birmingham City Council Labour group after its intervention last week. |
Labour promises councils powers to start new bus services
28/04/2023 Councils will be given more powers to start new bus services if Labour win the next general election, the party has promised. |
Labour should tackle erosion of local government, report says
01/03/2023 Labour must overcome obstacles including the erosion of local government if it wants to carry out its pledge to empower communities, says campaign group. |
Starmer makes devolution bill pledge
05/01/2023 A swathe of new powers would be devolved from central Government under a Labour administration, leader Sir Kier Starmer has promised in a key speech. |
Labour proposes more employment powers for councils
04/01/2023 Local authorities would be given more power in an overhaul of the jobs market and training under plans being looked at by the Labour Party. |
Labour pledges 'biggest wave of insourcing for a generation'
26/09/2022 A Labour Government would oversee the ‘biggest wave of insourcing for a generation,’ deputy leader Angela Rayner has said. |
Nandy named new shadow levelling up secretary
30/11/2021 Former shadow foreign secretary Lisa Nandy has been named the new shadow levelling up secretary in Sir Keir Starmer’s latest reshuffle. |
Labour promises to scrap business rates
27/09/2021 Labour has announced that it plans to scrap business rates to make the taxation system fairer and to help revive the high street after the pandemic. |
Labour under pressure to commit to voting reform
14/09/2021 The party is set to debate adopting Proportional Representation (PR) for General Elections at its annual conference. |
Labour calls for free school meals over holidays
26/05/2021 Over half a million children became eligible for free school meals during the first year of the pandemic, analysis by Labour has estimated. |
Labour outlines plans for 'catch-up' breakfast clubs
28/04/2021 Labour has urged the Government to launch universal catch-up breakfast clubs to help children bounce back from the pandemic. |
Labour council pressed to insource service
12/04/2021 Neath Port Talbot CBC has been urged to bring its leisure services under direct control as it searches for a new operator. |
Pupils returning to ‘overcrowded’ classrooms, Labour warn
10/03/2021 The number of pupils in class sizes over 31 has increased substantially over the last five years, new research has revealed. |
Government urged to fund free school meals during holidays
15/02/2021 Labour has warned 1.4 million children face a postcode lottery in food support this half-term. |
Labour to force vote over council tax rise
22/01/2021 Labour will force a vote in the House of Commons to stop government plans to force councils to raise council tax by 5%. |
Starmer demands halt to ‘absurd’ council tax rises
11/01/2021 Labour leader Keir Starmer has called for central government to increase funding for local authorities to prevent council tax hikes. |
Tier 3 communities in North and Midlands ‘stretched to breaking point’
30/11/2020 Tier 3 communities in the North and Midlands will be ‘stretched to breaking point’ once the grant aimed at supporting local business is cut at the end of the national lockdown, according to Labour. |
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Labour calls for creation of 400,000 green jobs
10/11/2020 Labour has called on the Government to ‘build it in Britain’ and to support the creation of 400,000 new jobs with a green economic recovery from the COVID-19 crisis. |
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Nearly one million children set to lose free school meals over holidays
21/10/2020 Nearly one million children living in areas that are subject to Tier 2 and 3 coronavirus restrictions are set to lose access to free school meals over the holidays, a new analysis has revealed. |
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Labour calls for free school meals to be provided during holidays
19/10/2020 Labour has thrown its weight behind a petition urging the Government to extend the provision of free school meals during holidays by threatening to force a vote in the Commons. |
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Starmer calls for ‘circuit-breaker’ lockdown
14/10/2020 Labour leader Keir Starmer has urged the Government to follow the advice of their scientific advisers and bring in a short lockdown of two or three weeks to slow the spread of COVID-19. |
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Starmer vows to tackle the 'decade of drift' on sorting social care
22/09/2020 Government failure to protect care homes during the pandemic is a ‘national scandal’, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer told his party’s virtual conference today. |
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Starmer warns coronavirus has created a 'perfect storm' for councils
01/07/2020 The coronavirus crisis and government’s inaction has caused a 'perfect storm' for councils, Keir Starmer will warn later today. |
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Councils face £10bn funding 'black hole'
14/05/2020 Councils could be forced to cut billions from social care services due to £10bn 'coronavirus black hole', Labour has warned today. |
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Labour's five-point plan to protect renters from eviction
11/05/2020 Labour has published a five-point plan to prevent renters from being evicted during the coronavirus crisis. |
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Labour pledges to restore council spending to 2010 levels
21/11/2019 Council spending powers will be restored to 2010 levels over the next five years, if Labour wins the General Election. |
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Labour promises biggest council house building programme for decades
21/11/2019 Labour has pledged to create a 'housing revolution' with the biggest council house building programme since the Second World War. |
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Spending on youth services cut 73% in decade
08/10/2019 A new analysis from the Labour Party has revealed that public spending on youth services in England has been reduced by £1bn – or 73% – since 2010. |
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Labour pledges to scrap Universal Credit
30/09/2019 Labour has promised to replace ‘inhumane’ Universal Credit with a new social security system. |
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Labour commit to providing elderly with free personal care
23/09/2019 The Labour Party has committed to the introduction of free personal care for all older people at an estimated cost of £6bn. |
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Labour pledges to scrap ‘unfit for purpose’ Ofsted
23/09/2019 Labour has vowed to scrap Ofsted and replace it with regular ‘health checks’ led by local government. |
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Labour to vote against ‘unfair’ local government funding
05/02/2019 Labour have pledged to vote against the Local Government Funding Settlement, arguing it fails to recognise the ‘dire situation’ facing councils. |
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Local government cuts ‘callous and calculated’, say Labour
29/01/2019 The Labour Party have accused the Government of being ‘callous’ as an analysis reveals that local government funding benefits affluent Tory areas the most. |
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‘No deal’ Brexit will lead to labour shortages, study reveals
22/08/2018 A 'no deal' Brexit will lead to labour shortages in the South East of England unless the Government extends freedom of movement, leading think tank warns. |
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Labour warn of ‘shameful’ inequality in education system
21/08/2018 Students in the poorest areas in England are nine times more likely than those in the wealthiest areas to be in a school rated as inadequate, according to an analysis of Ofsted data. |
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Labour council chiefs promise councils ‘ten new freedoms’
20/03/2018 Labour’s council leaders promise to give councils ten new freedoms to build homes, schools and children’s centres on their party’s first day in power. |
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Labour calls for VAT and income tax devolution
08/01/2016 Labour have revealed their policy for radical fiscal devolution, including some powers over VAT and income tax. |
