Cllr Nick Taylor: Brighton and Hove Council criticised by its own auditors

A refusal to commission services has resulted in poor value for money.

Cllr Joel Davidson: The Chancellor has confounded Labour Brent’s miserablism

The council leader makes Brent sound the most depressing place on earth to live.

Jonathan Carr-West: Prime Minister Osborne, the curator of local economies, delivers in 2025

Localism must mean greater tax raising powers for councils.

Council spending on Public Health is being largely wasted

Over £3 billion is spent on nannying and bureaucracy. Does it make our children thinner? Or stop us from smoking?

Cllr David Hodge: For councils the well of efficiencies is drying up while the pressures on us continue to rise

No stone has been left unturned in the search for savings but demand in the social care system spirals.

Labour by-election candidate is paid £81,598 a year in councillor allowances

Cllr Jim McMahon has argued there was “no alternative” to a Council Tax rise.

Let’s give parents of disabled children real choice about school passenger transport

Bureaucratic burdens mean that at present there is a poor service – at a high cost.

Cameron is right – Oxfordshire County Council does not need to cut services

£21 million a year is spent on debt interest while surplus assets are retained.

Judy Terry: Councils are ineffective at project management

Scrutiny committees rarely get results because reports are sufficiently bland not to provide answers.

Cllr Michael Jones: New jobs in Cheshire East will mean more funding for local services

Keeping extra Business Rates revenue gives the council an incentive to provide more land for employment

What should councils do in response to the refugee crisis?

Rather than “virtue signalling”, councils should provide practical help from within their existing budgets.

The state is hoarding a £3.5bn art collection kept hidden from the public

Bulging state cellars are not in the interests of taxpayers or art lovers.

Islington Council has not embraced Corbynism

Marxist agitprop has been largely abandoned in his own backyard.

Councils should challenge central government over unused assets

Could Council Chambers double up as court rooms?

Judy Terry: Let’s end the “vision” thing

Proposals must be practical and deliverable.