Council by-election results from yesterday and forthcoming contests
The Conservatives gained a seat from Labour in Cardiff, a seat from the Lib Dems in Chichester and a seat from an independent in Moray.
Councils are obstructing “armchair auditors”
Greater transparency is crucial to restoring trust in politics, both locally and nationally.
Mario Creatura: In defence of the professional politician
You wouldn’t go under anaesthetic if the surgeon were doing it as a hobby. There is a reason why a substantial number of MPs start life as councillors.
Shona Haslam: With three weeks to go here in Lanark & Hamilton East, it is only going to get busier, colder…and crazier.
The Scottish Conservatives do need to build up our activist base. The SNP has been effective in building a loud and bold campaigning force.
Selaine Saxby: In North Devon, there is great concern about traffic congestion on local roads
Local hotels, restaurants, and tourist attractions would all benefit from a cut in VAT. This is something that we can seriously look at once we have left the EU.
Izzi Seccombe: A Labour Government would fail to provide the support that councils need
Labour MPs voted against the local government finance settlement. They would also scrap Ofsted, increase taxes, and delay Brexit.
Council by-election results from yesterday and forthcoming contests
The Conservatives lost seats to the Lib Dems in Eden and Tunbridge Wells. But the Conservatives gained a seat from the Lib Dems in Torbay.
Large towns are offering a route to Conservative revival. How can we return the favour?
Gimmicks and bribes are not the answer. Prosperity will be achieved if free entreprise is allowed to thrive.
David Simmonds: I’m a supporter of railways, but HS2 is a misguided scheme
The current expensive disruptive route, and the neglect of decrepit local transport, are unacceptable.
Peter Golds: The Electoral Commission has rewritten the law to make it difficult to investigate vote fraudsters
It has, without consultation or a change in the law, slammed shut the principal way that investigating corruption of the register may be properly conducted.
Gary Sambrook: Six years as a councillor gives me an advantage in standing for Parliament
In Birmingham, the Labour council is adamant about introducing its hated Congestion Charge; which will hit the poorest the hardest.
John Bald: A new approach is needed to sort out the mess of special needs provision
A global approach to quite different challenges has failed. A long-term decline in specialised teaching skills must be reversed.
Council by-election results from yesterday and forthcoming contests
The Lib Dems lost a seat to an independent in Cornwall. Labour held a seat in Croydon.
Judy Terry: How councils can do more to attract inward investment
Regulations should be applied lightly and Business Rates cut. Improving transport links must be championed.
Matthew Barber: How catching drug dealers cuts crime more generally
A string of bicycle thefts could be a coordinated plan, with those stealing the bikes paid with a small amount of Class A drugs.