Councils click into the future of planning
In town halls across the country, planning officers are racing to update their Local Plans — but this time, the process looks very different.
Local authorities ask permission to raise council tax above referendum threshold
20/01/2025 More councils have pleaded with ministers to increase their council tax above the 5% referendum limit without holding a poll, it has emerged. |
Council tax cap to remain at 5%
14/11/2024 Council tax increases will be kept at the 5% cap next year, Labour have confirmed. |
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. |
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. |
Bristol votes to abolish elected mayor
06/05/2022 Bristol voters have decided to abolish the city’s directly elected mayor following a referendum. |
City council votes for major governance overhaul
25/03/2022 Sheffield City Council has agreed to a major overhaul of how it will take democratic decisions after a referendum on the city’s governance last year. |
Parish leaders call for council tax referendum exemption
17/01/2022 Local council leaders have called on the Government to grant parish and town councils a multi-year exemption on council tax referendum principles. |
Croydon to get directly elected mayor
08/10/2021 Croydon Council will be run by a directly elected mayor after the vast majority of voters backed the move in a referendum. |
Controversial Somerset poll backs district plan
07/06/2021 A controversial poll on reorganisation in Somerset has come out in favour of a district-based proposal. |
Voters back committee system in Sheffield referendum
11/05/2021 Sheffield City Council will move towards a new committee system following a referendum to change how the council is run. |
Local elections 2021: Voters back mayors in referendums
09/05/2021 Tower Hamlets and Newham LBC have both voted to keep the post of directly elected mayor in referendums run alongside the local elections. |
Sheffield to hold referendum on ‘overhauling’ governance
24/09/2019 Sheffield City Council has confirmed that a referendum on its governance arrangements will go ahead after a petition called for a radical overhaul of the way the council does business. |
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Northamptonshire given permission for extra council tax increase
29/01/2019 Northamptonshire County Council has been given the freedom to increase council tax by 2% more than other local authorities without holding a referendum, it was announced today. |
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Christchurch to hold referendum on unitary council proposal
09/11/2017 A referendum on joining a new unitary authority will be held by Christchurch Borough Council, after reports the Government in 'minded' to support the proposal. |
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Porter: Abolish council tax referendums
04/07/2017 Referendums on council tax limits should be abolished in order to secure the financial sustainability of councils, Lord Porter will argue later today. |
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Lib Dems pledge new referendum on Brexit
17/05/2017 The Liberal Democrats have pledged to hold a second referendum on Brexit and invest almost £7bn into education if elected in June. |
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Council defers referendum in wake of snap General Election
19/04/2017 Plans to hold a referendum on local government reorganisation in Christchurch will be delayed following the announcement of a snap General Election. |
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Christchurch to hold referendum on Dorset’s local gov ‘overhaul’
23/03/2017 Christchurch councillors have voted in support of a referendum on plans to create two new unitary authorities in Dorset after receiving ‘mixed results’ from previous consultations. |
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Leaked tape reveals Surrey's 'gentleman's agreement' with ministers
08/03/2017 A leaked recording has allegedly caught the leader of Surrey County Council, David Hodge, admitting he secured a ‘gentleman’s agreement’ from ministers to call off a referendum. |
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Finding the money for social care
21/02/2017 While the government's answer to solving the social care crisis appears to be increasing council tax bills, will this money even make a dent in the expected overspend this year? William Eichler and Laura Sharman investigate. |
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Lincolnshire ‘mega-council’ poll cancelled due to ‘ludicrous’ cost
17/02/2017 A referendum on the creation of one ‘mega-council’ in Lincolnshire would cost in excess of £1m despite previous county council assurances costs would be ‘kept to a minimum’. |
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Surrey scraps plan for 15% council tax increase
07/02/2017 Surrey Council County has announced it is abandoning proposals to increase council tax by 15% and has instead budgeted for a 4.99% rise. |
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Public to be polled about new unitary council in Lincolnshire
24/01/2017 A referendum is to be held on abolishing all eight councils in Lincolnshire and replacing them one unitary council. |
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Council to hold referendum over 15% council tax increase
19/01/2017 Surrey County Council is to hold a referendum on increasing council tax by 15% in order to ‘protect vital services’. |
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Mayor of Liverpool rules out council tax referendum
03/01/2017 Liverpool City Council has ruled out holding a referendum on increasing council tax by up to 10%. |
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County leader hits out at precept capping for town and parish councils
02/11/2016 Proposals forcing town and parish councils to hold costly referendums if they wish to increase tax by more than 2% have been labelled damaging by county leader. |
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Borough council in talks with actress Lindsay Lohan
01/11/2016 Kettering Borough Council is in talks with Lindsay Lohan after the Hollywood star said she would be interested in switching on the city’s Christmas lights. |
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People reject elected mayor for Guildford in referendum
17/10/2016 Residents have rejected the idea of having a directly elected mayor in Guildford. |
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EU referendum suffered ‘glaring democratic deficiencies’
01/09/2016 A ‘root and branch review’ of the role and conduct of referendums is needed to ensure errors made during the EU vote are not repeated, say campaign group. |
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Ex-pats complain about missing postal votes
24/06/2016 Confusion over postal voting emerged after complaints from expats that they had not received their ballot papers in time. |
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Flash flooding disrupts final hours of EU referendum
24/06/2016 Poor weather caused disruption in parts of the country as voters made their way to polling booths. |
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Conspiracy theorists criticise use of pencils at polling stations
24/06/2016 Voters in in an East Midlands borough were told they could not use their own pen to put a cross on their ballot papers - even though official guidelines say they can. |
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Brexit: Corbyn calls for ‘proper’ council funding after EU vote
24/06/2016 Jeremy Corbyn has called for ‘proper funding of local authorities’ in the wake of the EU referendum results. |
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Council advised to remove 'biased' England flags from polling station
24/06/2016 Council staff in Enfield were sent in to take down St George's flags and bunting at a polling station after fears that it could act as 'a dog whistle for the Leave campaign'. |
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Brexit: Local government facing ‘policy vacuum’
24/06/2016 Local government has been warned to brace itself for further austerity measures and a possible shake-up of the devolution agenda, following the results of the EU referendum. |
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EU referendum could be perceived as ‘inconclusive’, campaigners warn
17/06/2016 Referendum could see low turnout and a ‘worrying demographic divide’—factors that may lead to it being perceived as ‘inconclusive’, say campaigners. |
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What does Brexit mean for local government?
17/06/2016 From public spending to immigration, William Eichler outlines what impact a Brexit could have on local government. |
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I hope sanity will prevail on 23 June
17/06/2016 After the latest polls, Michael Burton hears local government alarm bells are ringing over the result of the EU referendum. |
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Why local government should vote remain
16/06/2016 William Eichler talks to Martin Whybrow, Green Party councillor at Kent County Councillor for Hythe, about why local government should vote to remain in the European Union. |
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Why local government should back Brexit
16/06/2016 William Eichler talks to cllr Lawrence J Webb, UKIP group leader on Havering Council, about why local government would be better off leaving the European Union. |
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Voters 'left in the dark' over EU referendum
07/06/2016 Only a quarter of voters (24%) feel ‘well’ or ‘very well’ informed about the upcoming EU referendum, a figure that has slightly increased from 16% since February, according to new research. |
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EU citizens wrongly sent referendum polling cards
03/06/2016 Some local authorities have sent polling cards and postal votes to a ‘small number’ of non-eligible EU citizens following a glitch with elections software. |
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Council accused of 'bias' over EU voting guide
31/05/2016 Bristol City Council has been forced to amend an EU referendum voting guide, after claims it was biased towards the Remain campaign. |
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Surrey council to vote on elected mayor
24/05/2016 Voters in Guildford are to be polled on whether or not they want to have a directly-elected mayor. |
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Barnet couldn’t ‘run a whelk stall’ let alone EU vote, Assembly says
13/05/2016 Barnet should not be allowed to oversee the EU referendum after the ‘chaos’ of their local elections, the London Assembly says. |
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District to change structure following referendum
11/05/2016 A district council in Dorset will change its committee structures following a referendum last week into its governance arrangements. |
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Voters stay home during poll on district council’s future
15/04/2016 There has been a record-low turnout in a poll on the future of a West Sussex district council, despite the vote costing the taxpayer £20,000. |
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Beware the Eurocrats’ agenda
07/04/2016 Claire Fox asks why is there not greater local government support for Brexit when serious questions over EU sovereignty remain unanswered |
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Havering is the most eurosceptic place in Britain, new poll reveals.
01/03/2016 New YouGov research has found the east London borough of Havering is the most eurosceptic area in Britain—with Peterborough not far behind. |
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Council receives petition calling for elected mayor referendum
18/02/2016 Guildford Council has received a petition calling for a referendum to be held on having a directed elected mayor. |
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North Tyneside Council to hold referendum on elected mayor
25/01/2016 Voters in North Tyneside will be given the power to choose how the local council is run: either retaining the current elected mayor or opting for a new committee system. |
