Associate director of comms and advocacy @CLESThinkdo. Interested in the intersection of place and the political economy. Views are mine all mine.
Manchester, England
Joined April 2017
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Sad but not surprised hear @lewis_goodall’s editor @TheNewsAgents didn’t want to hear about council reform: Westminster has systematically bored us out of caring about *the most direct form of democracy we have* over the last four decades. And not by accident.
If you have another crack though @lewis_goodall let me know - @sarahlonglands @CLESthinkdo and I can tell you in no uncertain terms why it’s not (that!) boring. #notjustbins
Here we go. #LabourConference24 #lpc24 (about today and tomorrow if you fancy a coffee/chat).
Honestly, you go away to Marseille (bliss🌅) for 10 days and you get an article in the @lgcplus and your road gets resurfaced to look like a 1930s garden city brochure. Municipal dreamscapes abound!
Article here ➡️ cles.org.uk/blog/is-now-the-…
“Without the on-the-ground insight from people who know the challenges of their place best of all, these plans will be little more than brochures of dreams, with very little basis in reality or hope of delivery” @tomlloydgoodwin and I for @lgcplus
Have loved working with the team to dream up this pre/post election messaging for CLES.
The concept of change has been rendered oblique to the point of meaninglessness in recent weeks but if you want to know where it really happens you only have to look outside your front door.
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Really proud to have been a (small!) part of this work, excellently steered by @ellieradcliffe9 and @chamurphy1 (building on 🔥 foundations by @tweetingantonia and @JontyLeibowitz).
The next govt needs to recognise and empower the role of local gov in climate transition.
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Very sad. Discovering and reading The New York Trilogy got me through a very hard time in my life.
Paul Auster, American author of The New York Trilogy, dies aged 77 theguardian.com/books/2024/m…
Big @CLESthinkdo publications day, with two absolute smashers hitting the virtual stands:
1️⃣ A joint output with our partners on the Reclaiming our Regional Economies project, summarising our first year learning and what needs to happen to make devo work.
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2️⃣ An absolute corker from @DavidB_CLES which is the culmination of a year’s worth of workshops and interviews with social value practitioners, asking where the future lies:
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Great but long day in London seeing comrades from @NEF and @CooperativesUK and battling our way through how to create economic change, at a regional level, followed by a brief foray to see @SmartThinktanks and chat exciting events plans.
Interesting @MCRMill article on LTNs.
The issue is much less whether LTNs work or not, but whether local authorities are properly resourced to bring residents along with the upheaval needed to meet their climate targets. manchestermill.co.uk/p/is-gr…
FYI, work due out soon from @ellieradcliffe9 @CLESthinkdo that touches on these themes...
So proud to have played a (small) part in this work. The economic exclusion of women costs the country more than the entire financial services industry brings in GVA: we *need* to stop thinking of gender equality as “only” a social issue.
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Husband: we did really well this world book day and hardly had any stress over it. Me: I spent two hours yesterday making [child]'s costume while also trying to work and tidy the house. Husband: Happy international women's day!
Excellent podcast from @NewStatesman on local gov finances - and a vital point, rarely covered from @meganekenyon: if citizens stand to make change in their places, then find there is no budget to do it, what does that mean for democracy? podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcas…
Hard to pick out the most alarming bit of this, but I would say “Adult social care will be cut by £23.7m in the next financial year, while the Children's Young People and Families department will be forced to find £51.5m savings.” just about tops the list. bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-bi…
Love this from @SeanBenstead - putting aside the fact that councils selling off assets is (at best) a sticking plaster for long term de-funding, we need to ask questions about the consequences when important community resources are sold off to the highest bidder.
An increasing number of councils are facing bankruptcy. @SeanBenstead of @CLESthinkdo argues that if they are to dispose of their assets, they should be allowed to do so in ways that benefit the local economy. blogs.lse.ac.uk/politicsandp…
