Fighting the Fakes: The battle against AI disinformation
The Electoral Commission has launched a deepfake detection pilot ahead of May's elections. LocalGov's editor William Eichler finds out how it works.
EXCLUSIVE: Sussex chiefs warn Whitehall over reorganisation risks
22/04/2026 Sussex chief executives have warned reorganisation delays create ‘real risks around timescales, capacity and the ability of councils to plan effectively'. |
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. |
EXCLUSIVE: Two unions reject pay offer
15/04/2026 Trade unions Unison and Unite have both rejected the employers' offer of a 3.3% pay increase. |
EXCLUSIVE: Ministers face legal LGR threat from furious Sussex leaders
10/04/2026 Sussex leaders are to demand ministers fully explain why they have delayed a final reorganisation decision, or they will consider launching a judicial review. |
Calls grow to fast-track reorganisation in Kent
10/04/2026 Ministers have been urged to bring forward their decision on local government reorganisation in Kent ‘without delay'. |
Government accused of 'failing to deliver' on council tax modernisation
09/04/2026 The Government has been accused of ‘failing to deliver’ on plans to modernise and improve the administration of council tax. |
Concerns over Whitehall delay to grooming plea
31/03/2026 Home Affairs Committee chair Dame Karen Bradley has raised concerns over Whitehall delays in demanding councils preserve records related to grooming gangs. |
Shadow minister warns devolution Bill will 'die' without talks
23/03/2026 Opposition politicians have warned the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill will fall unless the Government listens to their concerns. |
Councils fail to collect quarter of rogue landlord fines
06/03/2026 Councils have collected just a quarter of the total fines issued to rogue landlords, data has shown. |
Havering urges Government to scrap loan interest
05/03/2026 Havering LBC is lobbying the Government to scrap the interest payments on its loans. |
Government to 'look again' at election postponement powers
27/02/2026 The Government will ‘look again’ at the secretary of state’s powers after peers launched an attempt to rein in ministerial control over cancelling elections. |
LGA to look into scale of £100k salary sign off burden
26/02/2026 The Local Government Association (LGA) is to look into the scale of the burden of members having to sign off salary packages worth more than £100,000. |
EXCLUSIVE: Pay spine review kicks off
26/02/2026 Work has started on a review of the national pay scale used to determine salaries for most council employees in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. |
Exceptional Financial Support increases
24/02/2026 Some 37 local authorities will be issued with £1.9bn in exceptional financial support (EFS), allowing them to use capital funding to cover day-to-day costs. |
CIPFA warning over profit capping reforms
23/02/2026 Financial oversight and profit capping reforms to the children's residential care market may fail to reduce costs for local authorities, CIPFA has warned. |
EXCLUSIVE: Lambeth service redesign after senior restructure
16/02/2026 Lambeth LBC is embarking of a ‘service redesign across the whole organisation’. |
Council appeals tribunal verdict
12/02/2026 City of York Council has submitted a formal appeal after an employment tribunal ordered the authority to pay out £10,500 to a former top director. |
EXCLUSIVE: LGA cyber insurance talks 'peter out'
11/02/2026 The Local Government Association (LGA) is not currently taking forward a proposal for a cyber attack insurance scheme, it has confirmed. |
EXCLUSIVE: £1.6m bill for intervention support
10/02/2026 Councils under Government intervention have shelled out more than £1.6m on staff and consultants to support their commissioners and envoys, The MJ can reveal. |
Reform UK budget defeated
09/02/2026 A budget proposing a 3.89% council tax increase by Warwickshire CC's minority Reform UK administration has been defeated by rival parties. |
