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.
London mayor launches new plan to end rough sleeping
20/05/2025 Mayor Sadiq Khan has promised to end rough sleeping in the capital by 2030 by ensuring people who are facing homelessness are ‘helped early’. |
EXCLUSIVE: Push for local PACs slows amid Whitehall scepticism
16/05/2025 Support for establishing local versions of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) across England is softening as the Government ponders whether to push the idea. |
West Midlands councils benefit from £12m pothole boost
13/05/2025 Six local authorities in the West Midlands are due to receive £12m of funding to help resurface roads and repair up to 132,000 potholes. |
Mayor of London unveils ‘ambitious’ green belt plans
09/05/2025 Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has announced plans to build tens of thousands of new homes on green belt land despite his previous opposition to green belt developments |
‘Watchdogs with bite’ needed to hold mayors to account
08/05/2025 More scrutiny is needed to ensure that increasingly powerful mayors are held to account, think tank says. |
Learning from the locals
06/05/2025 Jonathan Werran, chief executive of Localis, reflects on the results of 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. |
Mayor urged to take over vacant shops to revitalise high streets
23/04/2025 The Mayor of London has been urged to provide more ‘financial and practical’ support to help drive high street regeneration across the capital. |
Mayors' integrated settlements published
09/04/2025 Final details of integrated settlements for Greater Manchester and the West Midlands have been confirmed for 2025-26. |
LGA updates business plan amid reorganisation shake-up
09/04/2025 The Local Government Association (LGA) is working on a new business plan as mayors increasingly reject its advances. |
Combined authority offers staff support after mayor’s arrest
07/04/2025 Staff at West of England Combined Authority have been offered support after mayor and MP Dan Norris was arrested on suspicion of rape and child sex offences. |
London’s boroughs call for ‘seat at the table’ in devo settlement
03/04/2025 London’s councils have called for joint decision-making arrangements between the mayor and the capital’s boroughs as part of a new devolution settlement. |
Great British Energy announces £10m for metro mayors
24/03/2025 Metro mayors are set to benefit from a £10m funding boost from Great British Energy aimed at supporting the delivery of new clean energy projects. |
Think tanks calls for doubling of mayoral capacity fund
14/03/2025 A think tank has urged the Government to commit to doubling the mayoral capacity fund to help strengthen capacity and accountability in combined authorities. |
Frustrated mayors delay campaign on fiscal devo
13/03/2025 Labour mayors frustrated by the lack of fiscal devolution are holding back from stepping up their lobbying, The MJ understands. |
London’s high streets get £21m regeneration boost
28/02/2025 London’s high streets are to benefit from £21m additional funding this year aimed at regenerating the capital’s high streets. |
Staffordshire mayor dies after car crash
17/02/2025 The mayor of Newcastle-under-Lyme has died following a road accident last Thursday. |
Six areas chosen for devolution fast track
05/02/2025 Six new areas have been chosen to join the Government’s devolution priority programme. |
Metro mayors back digital transformation
13/01/2025 A study of the manifestos of 12 UK metro mayors has revealed ‘clear alignment’ around digital transformation goals. |
Local government recognised in New Year Honours
02/01/2025 Knighthoods for mayors past and present led the King's New Year Honours list for 2025. |
Mayor launches legal case against own council
28/11/2024 Newham LBC mayor Rokhsana Fiaz has launched a legal claim against her own council. |
Elected mayor 'stumbling block' warning
21/11/2024 Ministers' insistence on a directly-elected mayor is ‘fast appearing on the horizon as a major stumbling block for English devolution', expert warns. |
London mayor calls for Right to Buy devolution
18/11/2024 Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has called on the Government to devolve control over Right to Buy to the capital. |
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. |
Mayor urges employers to embrace living wage
06/11/2024 North East Mayor Kim McGuinness has urged employers to embrace the real living wage as part of the region’s fight against child poverty and low pay. |
Mayors can relieve council pressures, says report
09/10/2024 Mayoral combined authorities (MCAs) can help with long-standing policy challenges in public services as well as boosting economic growth, a think-tank has argued. |
Further devolution needed to drive energy efficiency measures
25/09/2024 Devolution of funding is needed so that mayoral combined authorities can take the lead in delivering energy efficiency upgrades to homes, a new report says. |
Mayors back Jamie Oliver’s call to ban junk-food advertising
25/09/2024 Nine UK mayors have signed up to celebrity chef Jamie Oliver’s campaign to ban junk-food advertising. |
South Yorkshire mayor welcomes £1.5bn nuclear factory decision
20/09/2024 The mayor of South Yorkshire has welcomed the news that South Yorkshire is set to become the new home of a planned £1.5bn Small Modular Reactor (SMR) factory. |
Rayner confirms four devolution agreements
19/09/2024 Four devolution agreements have been signed off in what the secretary of state for local government describes as ‘only the first step’ of a devolution drive. |
Mayors announce Manchester-Birmingham railway line
13/09/2024 Plans for a railway line improving connections between Birmingham and Manchester ‘at a fraction of the costs’ of the northern leg of HS2 have been announced. |
Mayors asked to take lead in drive against extremism
05/09/2024 Local political leaders have been asked to spearhead efforts to tackle extremism and foster greater community cohesion following a summer of disorder. |
Councils draining ‘dwindling’ reserves to stay afloat
04/09/2024 Three in five (60%) city leaders have warned they will have to draw on already depleted financial reserves this year to ‘stay financially afloat.’ |
Newham mayor ‘deeply concerned’ by airport expansion
20/08/2024 The Government has approved London City Airport's plans to increase passenger numbers by more than a third despite objections by Newham Council. |
Rotheram: Mindless violence distracts from delivering justice
31/07/2024 Local government leaders have condemned violent protests that broke out after three girls were killed in a knife attack. |
King's Speech: Devolution takes centre stage
17/07/2024 The announcement of an English Devolution Bill took centre stage in the King's Speech. |
West Yorkshire mayor unveils plans to deliver 38,000 homes
11/07/2024 West Yorkshire Mayor Tracy Brabin has unveiled plans to deliver more than 38,000 homes across the region over the next 15 years. |
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. |
Mayor tells Labour to ‘commit’ to the Northern Powerhouse
08/07/2024 The new Labour Government should ‘commit early to the Northern Powerhouse’, says the mayor of Greater Manchester. |
Planning London under Labour
17/06/2024 Grant Leggett, Executive Director and Head of Boyer’s London planning team, looks at the impact of a future Labour government on planning in London. |
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). |
South Yorkshire mayor could receive £30k pay boost
29/05/2024 The mayor of South Yorkshire could be in line for a pay rise of nearly £30,000. |
Teesside airport to ‘remain in public ownership’
22/05/2024 Mayor Ben Houchen has insisted that the Teesside International Airport is ‘not for sale’ despite an expression of interest from a private buyer. |
Call to fix ‘incomplete patchwork’ of devolution deals
13/05/2024 The next government must extend devolution to 85% of England to address an ‘incomplete patchwork of mismatched deals’, a think-tank has argued. |
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 win Yorkshire mayoralty in PM’s ‘backyard’
03/05/2024 Labour’s David Skaith has won the race to become the first York and North Yorkshire mayor. |
Houchen retains Tees Valley for Tories
03/05/2024 Ben Houchen has won the Tees Valley mayoral election despite his vote share taking a dramatic hit. |
What is a metro mayor?
25/04/2024 A metro mayor is directly elected by local people to oversee a region’s combined authority. |
Gove open to giving mayors Whitehall voice
23/04/2024 Local government secretary Michael Gove has not ruled out a ‘formal structure’ for mayors to work more closely with central government. |
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. |
New Kirklees mayor to make history
28/03/2024 Kirklees’ 50th mayor will be the first woman of colour and first Muslim woman to hold the role. |
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. |
Court rules against police powers for West Midlands mayor
19/03/2024 The High Court has ruled against the Government’s plans to merge the role of the West Midlands police and crime commissioner (PCC) with the regional mayor. |
Council funding crisis ‘existential’
01/03/2024 Local government’s funding crisis threatens to derail ambitions to level up the north of England, it has been claimed. |
More areas get level four devolution powers
01/03/2024 West Yorkshire, South Yorkshire and the Liverpool city region will all receive level four devolved powers, local government secretary Michael Gove has announced. |
Croydon to wind down Brick by Brick
12/02/2024 Croydon LBC’s mayor is set to give the go-ahead to officially wind down the council’s development firm Brick by Brick. |
South Yorkshire mayoral election on the cards
09/02/2024 A mayoral election could take place in South Yorkshire this year after it was confirmed that PCC responsibilities will be moved to the regional leader. |
Mayor of London criticised for Saudi ads
13/12/2023 Mayor Khan has been criticised after Saudi adverts appeared on the TfL Network despite advertising restrictions on countries with poor human rights records. |
Rotheram threatened over Covid restrictions
27/11/2023 Liverpool City Region mayor Steve Rotheram was assigned 24-hour police security after he received threats during the Covid pandemic, he revealed today. |
Mayor failed to intervene following bullying
27/11/2023 Details have emerged of a bullying probe at Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority that found mayor Nik Johnson breached the organisation’s code of conduct. |
West Yorkshire to host £220m investment zone
21/11/2023 A new investment zone has been announced for West Yorkshire focused on life sciences. |
Economic pessimism a ‘damning indictment’ of levelling up
20/11/2023 Half of people think Conservative policies would have a negative impact on their local economy over the next five years, a think-tank has found. |
WMCA trailblazer devolution deal ratified
16/10/2023 The West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) has ratified a ‘deeper devolution deal’ worth an estimated £1.5bn. |
Call for bus franchising powers for councils
22/09/2023 Local authorities need more powers, including to introduce franchising, to end a 'spiral of decline' in bus service delivery, a new report has said. |
Hackney mayor resigns
15/09/2023 Philip Glanville has resigned as mayor of Hackney after a picture emerged of him at a social. |
No investigation over ULEZ research collusion claims
15/09/2023 There will be no investigation into the London Mayor’s deputy for environment over reports that she urged scientists to counter research relating to low emissions zones, the Mayor's office has said today. |
EXCLUSIVE: Mayors press for trailblazer devolution powers
04/09/2023 Mayors are pressing for devolved powers currently reserved for their trailblazer counterparts in ongoing talks with the Government. |
Sadiq Khan expands Pension Credit campaign
22/08/2023 The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has announced the expansion of a scheme that has helped Londoners receive an additional £8.4m in unclaimed Pension Credit. |
Mayor Khan wins ULEZ expansion legal battle
28/07/2023 There is no legal impediment to the Mayor of London’s expansion of the Ultra-Low Emissions Zone (ULEZ) to outer London, the High Court has ruled. |
Tory MPs block release of Teesside investigation documents
08/06/2023 The Government has blocked the release of documents which would show the decision-making behind an investigation into controversial Teesside redevelopment. |
Labour blocks Driscoll mayoral bid
05/06/2023 North of Tyne mayor Jamie Driscoll has been blocked by Labour from standing as the party’s mayoral candidate for the proposed North East combined authority. |
Greater Manchester unveils skills devolution plan
15/05/2023 The shape of skills devolution in the trailblazer devolution deals has been outlined by Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham. |
Mayor launches bus franchising consultation
15/05/2023 Mayor Steve Rotheram has launched a consultation on bus reform in the Liverpool City Region. |
Report shows stark variations in levelling up funding
25/04/2023 Competitive bidding has led to a £0.5bn gap in levelling up cash between the best and least funded combined authorities, according to new analysis. |
Bristol City Council to be run by committees
05/04/2023 Bristol council is set to be run by seven policy committees after the May elections following a referendum which decided to abolish the directly elected mayor. |
Cornwall abandons devolution deal
05/04/2023 Cornwall County Council has dropped its plans to accept a devolution deal which included an elected mayor. |
Cornwall devolution consultation delivers mixed results
31/03/2023 A consultation on whether Cornwall should have an elected mayor and a devolution deal has produced mixed results. |
Northern Powerhouse group calls for ‘proper fiscal devolution’
20/03/2023 New council tax ‘super bands’ covering the most valuable properties and the devolution of stamp duty will help local leaders retain local cash, report says. |
Mayor told to take urgent action against rogue landlords
20/03/2023 Urgent action is needed to tackle rogue landlords who are targeting vulnerable Londoners and placing them in dangerous housing, committee warns. |
Mayors welcome devolution plans
16/03/2023 The mayors of Greater Manchester and the West Midlands Combined Authority welcome major devolution plans following the Spring Budget. |
Budget’s lack of social care support ‘disappointing’
16/03/2023 Council leaders welcomed the new funding in yesterday's budget but were disappointed by absence of investment in social care, health and children’s services. |
Gary Lineker twitter row ‘fuss about nothing’, says mayor
13/03/2023 Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen calls for Gary Lineker to be reinstated on Match of the Day and tells everyone to ‘grow up’. |
Deal reached on North East devolution package
03/01/2023 Details of a proposed mayoral devolution deal for the North East of England have been released. |
Top awards for sector in King Charles III's Honours list
03/01/2023 Local government figures from across the sector have been recognised in the first New Year's Honours list under King Charles III. |
Mayors do not lead to better outcomes, polling finds
19/12/2022 People do not think mayors lead to better outcomes for their community, polling by a coalition of community groups has found. |
Cornwall £360m devolution deal unveiled
02/12/2022 A £360m devolution deal on offer to Cornwall has been unveiled today. |
Referendum push for Cornwall mayoral plans
25/11/2022 Plans for an elected mayor in Cornwall could face a referendum in a bid to force the decision beyond county councillors. |
Autumn Statement: More mayors announced
17/11/2022 Four new mayoral authorities are in the pipeline with ‘advanced discussions’ under way, the chancellor has announced. |
Doncaster mayor threatens legal action
27/10/2022 Doncaster’s mayor has instructed the council to take legal action against the owner of DSA to stop what she describes as ‘stripping’ of the airport’s assets. |
MPs call for end to ‘culture of centralisation’
25/10/2022 The Government should review the requirement to have a directly elected mayor to achieve the highest levels of devolution, MPs say. |
Mayors from across the world mourn Queen’s death
13/09/2022 City mayors from Europe, America, Africa and Asia have offered their condolences after the passing of Queen Elizabeth II. |
£1.14bn East Midlands devo deal agreed
30/08/2022 A landmark £1.14bn devolution deal for a new combined county authority (CCA) is on offer for the East Midlands, to include a new elected regional mayor. |
Liverpool set for further intervention
19/08/2022 Commissioners at Liverpool are set to take on governance and financial decision making in an extension of their powers following a damning report. |
York and North Yorkshire councils sign ‘historic’ devolution deal
01/08/2022 New powers are set to be transferred to a directly elected mayor in York and North Yorkshire as part of a historic devolution deal. |
Metro mayor calls for 'unwavering support' for levelling up
11/07/2022 Metro mayor Ben Houchen has called on MPs vying to be the next prime minister to fully commit to levelling up the red wall and left behind areas. |
Liverpool residents vote to keep elected mayor position
04/07/2022 Liverpool residents have voted to retain the position of directly elected city mayor. |
Unleash wave of mayoral devo, says think tank
20/06/2022 A report from the centre right Onward think tank has urged the Government to step back from ‘micromanaging’ England’s cities and counties and unleash a wave of mayoral devolution. |
Westminster City Council announces first ever Muslim Lord Mayor
12/05/2022 Westminster City Council is to vote in its first Muslim Lord Mayor and its youngest ever incumbent. |
Bristol votes to abolish elected mayor
06/05/2022 Bristol voters have decided to abolish the city’s directly elected mayor following a referendum. |
North West England mayors visit Dublin to boost trade links
30/03/2022 Mayors from the North West of England have travelled to Dublin to kick off a joint mission to boost trade and cultural links. |
