Labour Party candidates have won mayoral elections in both Liverpool and Salford. In Liverpool, Joe Anderson won with 58,458 votes, beating second-place Liam Fogarty, an independent candidate who gained 8,292 votes. The Liberal Democrat candidate Richard Kemp came third with 6,238 votes. The turnout in the election was 30.8%.
Only Bristol has backed the governments directly elected mayors proposal with key cities including Birmingham rejecting the idea. Of the 10 core cities holding a referendum forced by the Localism Act, nine rejected the plans with low turnouts across the country.
After the elections, government in the big cities will undergo major change, while other areas look on with interest says Steven Howell.
The prime minister David Cameron once famously entreated the British public to ‘hug a hoodie’.
Now employment minister, Chris Grayling, has suggested that hoodies should be offered not just love but jobs as well, urging employers to look beyond…
In the first of a series on funding regeneration, the CEO of Localis says local leadership is the key to successful renewal.
Westminster City Council has given residents the go-ahead to hold a referendum on setting up Londons first parish council.
More than 2,000 residents of Queens Park in north-west London signed a petition requesting the establishment of a community council in the area and the council has held a community governance review to examine the proposal.
A new discounted rate on loans from the government is set to be introduced early next year, according to officials.
A consultation on whether a tax efficient vehicle for property investment – widely used in the commercial property market – could be used to encourage more investment in the social housing sector has been published by the government.
Local councils are being told to step up and take responsibility for economic growth in their areas. But while councils are keen to exert greater control over their local economies, many feel they are being told to do so with “one hand tied behind their backs”…
An at a glance look at the key news contained in the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF).