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.
Camden set to appoint new chief executive
08/05/2025 Jon Rowney has been recommended for appointment as Camden Council’s new chief executive. |
Leadership and HR in local government transformation
01/04/2025 Pam Parkes, president of the PPMA, argues that the leadership mindset and HR are the missing links in local government transformation. |
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. |
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’. |
Hollinrake: Leaders to blame for s114 notices
19/02/2025 Conservative local government spokesperson Kevin Hollinrake has said council leaders are primarily responsible for their authorities having to issue section 114 notices. |
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. |
Report finds ‘alarming erosion of governance capacity’
02/12/2024 Governance within councils must be improved if local public finances are to be rebuilt, a think-tank has argued. |
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. |
Council leader quits over paedophile headteacher row
18/10/2024 The leader of Gwynedd Council has stood down after a row over his initial failure to apologise to the victims of a convicted paedophile headteacher. |
CQC announces new chief executive
07/10/2024 England’s health and social care regulator has announced that Sir Julian Hartley will be appointed as its new chief executive. |
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. |
The challenges of local government reorganisation
16/09/2024 Guy Clifton, director, Local Government Value for Money, Grant Thornton UK LLP looks at reorganisation lessons from recently established unitary councils. |
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. |
Liverpool City Council set to achieve ‘true potential’, minister says
14/08/2024 The new minister for local government has praised Liverpool City Council’s improvement journey saying it is ‘on its way to achieving its true potential.’ |
Rise in sustainability and governance weaknesses
16/07/2024 Weaknesses in councils' financial sustainability and governance are increasing, according to evidence uncovered in a newly-published report. |
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. |
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. |
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. |
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. |
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. |
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. |
'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. |
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. |
Council leader reveals cancer diagnosis live on radio
07/02/2024 The leader of Braintree District Council has revealed on a live radio broadcast that he has been diagnosed with advanced prostate cancer. |
Study reveals ‘worrying’ state of local government leadership
25/01/2024 Just over half of council leaders and managers believe their local authority isn’t ensuring accountability for failure, an alarming new study has revealed. |
Report calls for more devolution to boost creative industries
23/01/2024 The further devolution of powers and funding connected to culture will help tackle economic stagnation and will boost to local communities, study finds. |
Council bankruptcies underline the need for good governance
06/11/2023 Penny Rinta-Suksi, partner at law firm Blake Morgan, argues that innovative policies that aim to enable efficient service delivery must be built on the foundations of good governance. |
Peterborough leader loses confidence vote
02/11/2023 Peterborough City Council has new political leadership after councillors voted to remove Conservative leader Wayne Fitzgerald. |
Chiefs' new professional development framework launched
17/10/2023 The first version of a new professional development framework to keep local government chief executives ‘ahead of the game’ has been launched. |
South East Councils to consider devolution of vehicle excise duty
01/09/2023 The devolution of vehicle excise duty (VED) will be among the options expected to be considered by a London Finance Commission-style investigation. |
Sheffield apologises 'unreservedly' for trees dispute
21/06/2023 Sheffield City Council has apologised ‘unreservedly’ after a report found the authority mishandled a dispute over the felling of thousands of healthy trees. |
Croydon pushes ahead with drive to hold former leaders to account
23/03/2023 Croydon LBC has announced ‘unprecedented action’ to hold ex-senior leaders to account for ‘misconduct, wrongdoing and failures in governance’. |
‘Highest performing’ active travel councils named
13/03/2023 Leicester and Nottingham councils have been rated as two of the highest performing local authorities in the first ever Government review of active travel. |
Khan announces £14m to restore trust in Met
27/01/2023 The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has set out proposals for £14.2m of new funding to rebuild the trust and confidence of London’s communities in the Met Police. |
Council chiefs welcome ‘shake-up’ of health and social care
08/06/2022 Council leaders have welcomed a review into health and social care leadership, particularly its emphasis on collaboration across the NHS and social care. |
Broxtowe BC looks to adopt cabinet system of governance
11/02/2022 Broxtowe Borough Council is looking to move to a leader and cabinet model of decision making. |
Council leader survives vote of no confidence
10/06/2020 A vote of no confidence in the leader of BCP Council, Cllr Vikki Slade, has failed by one vote. |
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Charity calls for ‘strong leadership’ to integrate support for disabled children
24/07/2019 Strong leadership is needed to streamline and integrate support for disabled children, according to campaigners. |
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Damning report on leadership diversity
11/10/2018 ‘Little progress’ is being made in increasing the diversity of senior leadership in local authorities, a report published today has found. |
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Leader denies decision to step down related to local plan defeat
04/04/2018 The leader of South Oxfordshire District Council has denied his decision to step down before the local elections is related to the authority’s local plan. |
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Scottish council leader with ‘big heart’ passes away
07/02/2018 Perth & Kinross Council yesterday announced their leader Ian Campbell had passed away ‘suddenly’. |
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Public sector leadership: what can be learned from Grenfell?
15/12/2017 Grenfell sent shockwaves across the nation and has forced public sector organisations across the country to ask themselves serious questions. |
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Scottish council opts for joint leaders
24/08/2017 For the first time in its history, Aberdeen City Council has chosen to appoint co-leaders. |
