Research for Action and rethinking local democracy
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…
Posted inCitizen Auditors Current Guest blog
Council tax rises – do we really get a say?
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…
National attention on local audit catastrophe : we saw it coming – now action is needed
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…
REPORT: Councillor Experiences of Scrutiny in Local Government
“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…
REPORT: Democratising Local Governance
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…
Posted inAudit and Accountability Citizen Auditors Current Democratising Governance Newsletters Projects Uncategorized
2023 in review: and looking forward….
As 2023 draws to a close, we wanted to share with you some highlights of Research for Action’s work. It has not been a great year for democracy - for…
Open Letter on Audit Reform
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…
REPORT: Local Audit: Why Public Interest needs to count
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…
EVENT- Local Audit: Why Public Interest needs to count
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…
Democratising Local Governance: No Cuts
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…