Katie Burgess: I’m standing as Mayor of Liverpool because I know the City can succeed
We don’t help people when we do it for them; but by helping them to help themselves.
Selina Seesunkur: Dog theft needs to be taken seriously
It should be made a specific criminal offence. Our pets are not the same as a replaceable object.
Susan Hall: Khan has great power. Yet he acts like a commentator.
For five years, he has pleaded poverty, passed blame, and avoided responsibility, instead of delivering for Londoners.
Harry Fone: Profligacy is to blame for the Council Tax rise in Wolverhampton
Plus: Waltham Forest’s proposed “consultancy support for a strategic reset” sounds like something from David Brent.
Matthew Robinson: The battle for West Yorkshire
As the Mayor, I will keep taxes low, stop a congestion charge, support business and the police, and deliver the new Northern Forest.
Stuart Coster: There is anger from the editors of real local newspapers at the fake versions from the Lib Dems
The idea of this dishonest campaigning is clearly to fool people into thinking they are reading dispassionate journalistic reports.
Council by-election results from last week
All three contests took place in Torfaen. In one of them, Labour gained a seat from an independent.
Simon Cooke: Local authorities must offer high pay to recruit chief executives who are up to the job
Councils with poor management and leadership need to recruit the best people to senior roles to sort out their failings.
Ross Mackinnon: Tougher penalties for illegal encampments will come as a relief to private landowners
Every summer, we face the intimidation, criminal damage, and economic costs. Then the environmental clean-up operations are required.
Local authorities should not be funding lobby groups such as the Runnymede Trust
It is by no means the only offender. Such payments show the wrong priorities and are dubious associations.
Alicia Kearns: Rural areas are not getting a fair deal
Councils that are efficient and keep costs down should be rewarded, not penalised.
Harry Fone: Almost 700 council staff are paid over £150,000 a year
Nottingham City Council paid nine staff over £100,000 a year. What did local taxpayers get for their money? A failed council-owned energy company.
John Bald: How many pupils start secondary school unable to read properly? The truth is we don’t know.
What is clear is that systematic phonics, followed by sustained teaching of reading, can tackle the literacy deficit.
Holly Whitbread: A modern vision for council housing
In Epping Forest new developments are ‘community-led’. We are championing a right to shared ownership.
This year there are a record number of Mayoral races. West Yorkshire is the latest addition.
The West of England was a narrow Conservative victory last time. It is likely to be closely fought again.