This is an edited version of FJ’s speech at the opening panel at the municipalist summit Fearless Cities, which took place 2-3 November 2024 in Sheffield. The summit, which we…
By Andrew Hill What happened to residents’ right to vote on ‘excessive’ council tax increases? What does this have to do with councils in financial crisis? This article explores the…
On 26th November, the Government’s spending watchdog, the National Audit Office (NAO), refused to sign off the Whole of Government Accounts - for the first time ever. Their press release…
“There are formal scrutiny committees, but I would see scrutiny as being much broader than that. For me, the point of scrutiny is being able to make issues public... and…
This report describes the findings from an action research project in Glasgow and Sheffield, which examined the relationships between local governance and local activism. Together with project partners from…
21st November 2023This letter was originally published in The Byline Times. We represent a range of organisations and individuals working on audit and accountability, local government and local democracy. We…
Local government in the UK is in a state of deep crisis. Shrinking of the state, centralisation of power and the hollowing out of the local state have decimated the…
Online Event - Local Audit: Why Public Interest Needs to Count Weds 16th August, 7-8.30 pmPlease sign up for the event here How can we get better local government accountability…
Download a colour version of the poster hereDownload a black and white version here Download the poster back (info) hereThis poster represents one of the themes that emerged from a…