Too often local government lacks proper scrutiny. There is a closed-mindedness that ignores warnings and fails to consider long-term consequences.
Shopping online will remain a popular choice. But reforming Business Rates is the best way of helping hostelries and independent retailers.
Digital is changing the way we live our lives. Councils can’t keep up unless the younger generation are part of the decision making process.
This evening Shaun Bailey, Andrew Boff and Joy Morrissey will be in Croydon. Voting starts on September 17th.
In recent contests the Conservatives lost seats to the Lib Dems in Knaresborough and East Hertfordshire, while Labour lost a seat to an independent in Neath Port Talbot.
At the local level, there is also good news in the successful reform of Great Yarmouth Charter Academy.
5,000 new homes are being provided alongside our waterways in the next five years. The proceeds are used to keep our canals, rivers, reservoirs, and docks in good repair.
It is quite possible to build attractive new homes – and to use some of the proceeds to enhance the environment.
That figure doesn’t include Transport for London’s land – which totals 5,700 acres, equivalent to the size of Camden.
That is bigger than the size of Surrey. The MOD also holds “rights” to another half a million acres.
Only a thousand acres are being released for housing, despite far more being surplus to requirements.
It will be a strong voice for an area with a growing population. Providing new housing and infrastructure is essential for it to thrive.
As elected representatives, we must help the police and the public fight this hidden evil.
It is funded at a lower level than schools, and yet is expected to put right much that has gone wrong. Technical courses need higher esteem.
Talk of being “cut to the bone” is nonsense. Here are some challenges councillors should be making about unnecessary spending.