Greetings!
Labour's first week in office
Labour’s first week in office has immediately brought some bold announcements.
The drive for “economic growth”, coupled with “liberalisation” of planning barriers and a drive to increase wind turbines and solar industry could lead to an excessive expansion by foreign companies on our farmland, and leaving the new “British Energy infrastructure Company” with little opportunity. A hold on current farmland applications is needed, pending a proper strategy being put in place to produce the right amount of energy, efficiently and in a way that does not prejudice our future food production. Rather than unbridled, unplanned “growth”, benefitting foreign investors, we need to focus on domestic prosperity and wellbeing. There is the added complication of how to build more houses faster, without impact on our carbon budget or sewage effluent into rivers. Focussing on energy efficiency for current and future development needs to remain a high priority.
We see the proposed re-introduction of unattainable housing targets for local authorities. Today, I saw figures showing that for the East Midlands at least, these did not create lower house prices, nor anything like enough genuinely affordable homes, especially in the right locations for good jobs. Forcing a target in housebuilding that is some 50 per cent higher than before, at 1.5m houses over five years, is likely to make for a very unpopular government, just before local elections next May.
As you know, the local government sector is signed up to a plan-led approach. The constant Government changes in the planning system has made it challenging to deliver. We understand that all potential sites are up for grabs including ‘grey belt’ plots, which are “disused” areas in the green belt. We are uncertain what exactly constitutes ‘grey belt’ land and it could lead to unhelpful speculative development and the loss of potential wild habitats, for little gain. A redrafting of the National Policy Planning Framework and a review of the green belt is proposed. I have offered our group’s expertise in a seminar for all our members, as we have successfully done before.
We also saw this week the Prime Minister meeting our metro mayors with a view to devolving further powers to a new Council for regions and nations.
‘Levelling up’ bidding has been officially scrapped, hopefully just giving the money to our Councils to get on with the job. I previously worked with the new Minister of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, Jim McMahon OBE MP on the LGA Board. He has responded positively to our longstanding concerns over access to funds being ‘fragmented’, creating bidding wars between local authorities, and instead supports our long-held desire to create ‘a single pot of money that trusts our metro mayors to get on to do the job they’ve been elected to do’. You will pleased to know I have already reached out to Jim for a meeting to represent the views of our group!
General Election 2024
You may be interested to read that the House of Commons Library has produced interim results from the recent General Election, which shows summary data and spreadsheet downloads of successful candidates and defeated MPs. A much fuller picture of full vote counts and candidate-level data will be published around 12 July. Last week, I congratulated our newly elected Independent, Green, Plaid and Reform MPs for their election into Parliament. I have written offering support from our Group and updating them on our concerns and ambitions, outlined in the LGA White Paper.
As mentioned last week, a record number of Independent (459), Green (629) and Plaid Cymru (32) Candidates stood in the election, with most constituencies having six or seven candidates. It is certainly heart-warming to continue to hear success stories all around the country, for example, one of our Executive members Councillor Georgina Hill was one out of 57 Independents who kept their deposits! Similarly, our Group Treasurer Councillor Andrew Cooper came second with 10,568 votes, beating the Conservatives, in the Huddersfield constituency. If you stood in the election and have a success story to share, please let me know!
You might be interested to watch an interview I had towards the end of the election on BBC East Midlands, and on BBC Radio 4 on the eve of the election where I covered a few key electoral issues, including housing, and made the case for Independents, which had been previously missing from the national media.
VACANCY: LGA People and Places Policy Board
We are currently accepting ‘expressions of interest’ for a vacancy that has arisen on the People and Places Policy Board. This is a great opportunity for you to use your local knowledge to influence national policy on a whole range of issues that affect local government by representing the LGA Independent Group. If you are interested in applying, please fill in the relevant form or if you have any further questions about the role, please get in touch. The deadline for submission is Tuesday 16 July at 5pm.
Helping our Councils be the best!
It was a pleasure to meet with Councillor Stuart Jeffrey who leads a Green and Independent Alliance at Maidstone Borough Council. The Alliance has set their own agreed business plan in the first eight weeks and now set to implement it, drawing on skills from across the Council. If you or your council require some of our sector support for local authorities, please take a look at our dedicated website which outlines our areas of help which includes: Governance, Leadership, Financial resilience, Workforce and Transformation. At the same time, we also have a dedicated ‘Councillors Hub’ which assists newly elected councillors on their local government journey and promotes key training and development events throughout the year.
LGA National new councillors welcome event
Please remember our new councillors welcome event takes place on Tuesday 16 July from 5pm to 7pm online. If you are a new councillor, please attend this information session which will introduce you to the LGA and the ongoing support it can give you. The Independent Group will be holding its own session immediately afterwards for new Independent, Green and Plaid Cymru Councillors to meet and network online.
Independent Group Next Generation programme 2024-25 launched!
We are very excited to announce that our Next Generation Programme is now open for expressions of interest. This flagship programme offers ambitious and talented councillors a bespoke and unparalleled political development opportunity. Each year we support a select group of councillors, chosen through a competitive application process, with the cost of the course and accommodation covered by the LGA. Those who have completed the LGA Independent Group Next Generation Programme leave with a new network of aspiring councillor colleagues and with greater confidence, self-belief and a strategy about how to further their influence, role and community leadership. Many have gone on to successfully hold leadership positions, including council leaders, deputy leaders, cabinet roles, and LGA Board places.
The programme is not routinely available to our colleagues in Wales as the Welsh LGA receives specific funding for member development, but the LGA Independent Group Office will sponsor one place on this course from Wales a year, so please do get in touch.
This is a residential course that takes place over three Friday/Saturdays during the year at Warwick University. Delegates are expected to attend all the events in person and to commit to undertaking the additional reading and preparation work. The dates for this year are 11/12 October 2024, 29/30 November 2024 and 29 February/1 March 2025.
LGA Annual Conference rescheduled – 22-24 October, Harrogate
We are delighted to have been able to secure a date for our LGA Annual Conference to be held this October as we know it is an event which is hugely valued by our members. It will provide a perfect opportunity for the local government family to come together after the General Election and discuss the opportunities and challenges that lie ahead.
If you can make these dates, then your booking will be transferred and there's nothing for you to do. However, if you would like to cancel you can do so via the ‘My booking' tab and clicking ‘Amend my booking’ on the Annual Conference event website.
I really hope to see lots of you at the LGA Annual Conference. It is such a great opportunity for us to network, learn and share, and it’s fantastic that we are able to go ahead this year.
Week ahead
I chaired the LGA online session on “Handling online abuse and intimidation for newly-elected councillors’ this week, which was very well attended. Slides are available here and the course is repeated on 23 July.
I shall be meeting the new Chair of the LGA on Monday, Councillor Louise Gittins, who took over from Councillor Shaun Davies after he was elected an MP for Telford. If you have any questions or issues you would like me to raise with the Chief Executive, Joanna Killian, or Louise, please get in touch.
And finally…
Deputy Caroline Jackson and I had an excellent meeting last week with the LGA Chief Executive, getting some vital points across and getting a grip on the transformation that is in progress.
I would also like to say how proud I am of the England team for reaching the finals of Euro 2024. Sadly, it was not meant to be on this occasion, however, we will be back for the World Cup!
Warmest regards,
Launch of Impact: The new name for your Local Government Graduate Programme.
Impact: The Local Government Graduate Programme’ is the new name for the successful scheme which has introduced thousands of talented graduates to the sector over two decades.
Chief executives, directors, and managers are among the programme’s many alumni, which has been praised by councils – many of whom have been established partners for years – for providing an invaluable source of high-quality candidates and fresh thinking to the workforce, paving the way for the next generation of local authority leaders.
The flagship programme – recognised as a Times Top 100 graduate employer – has grown from strength to strength and regularly receives thousands of applications every year. If your council hasn’t benefitted from our Graduate Scheme, do sign up.
Dates for the Diary
Tuesday 23 July 2024, 2.00pm - 3.30pm
As part of the LGA’s support for councillor safety, we are offering this session tailored specifically for newly or recently elected councillors to build confidence around handling online abuse and intimidation, a growing problem faced by many councillors.
Thursday 5 September 2024 | Manchester
This Local Government Association event is open to new members from across the North-West who have been elected (for the first time) in May 2024. The event will support newly elected members in exploring their roles. It will provide an opportunity to hear from cross-party guest speakers about their experiences and insights, as well as support this cohort of newly elected members from across the region to develop their networks.
Thursday 19 September 2024, 2.00pm - 3.30pm
This virtual event which is funded by Government will provide an overview of local government finance without any numbers - focusing instead on roles and responsibilities, key terminologies and processes. It will give you an understanding of both what you need to be aware of in your role and what you need to understand about your authority’s role and is aimed at newly elected members or those just looking for a refresh.
Thursday 26 September 2024, 10.00am - 11.30am
Focussing on key roles and responsibilities of the audit committee, this webinar will refresh and provide clarity on the key tasks of the audit committee and in particular the Chair role within this.
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