Harry Fone: Northamptonshire’s downfall was brought about by highly paid groupthink

Plus: the Public Accounts Committee fails to challenge Council waste. Nottingham still in the lead for extortionate tax.

Jonathan Werran: More rail investment won’t lead to recovery without more local governance

The final piece in a ConservativeHome mini-series this week on the railways after Covid.

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.

What the Red Wall really is. But why it’s also a mindset – not just geography

The term is used to understand the views of people living in traditional Labour heartlands. But it’s more complicated than that.

Harry Fone: £255 million a year is spent on councillor allowances. That is where the economy drive should begin.

Plus: White elephants in Brighton – and Nottingham’s inept venture into the energy market.

Labour council leaders’ resistance to local lockdowns gives Starmer a dilemma

Joe Anderson, Liverpool’s Mayor, and other city council leaders in the north have joined together to say that they “do not support further economic lockdowns”.

Andrew Carter: Devolving responsibilities to our town halls must also mean devolving money

We should be asking ourselves what we want from local government in the future, particularly in light of the Covid-19 crisis.

Algorithm or no algorithm, the UK needs houses. Fast.

Clearly the Government’s model is flawed. But there is no perfect formula for solving this crisis.

Neil O’Brien: The next algorithm disaster – coming to a Conservative constituency near you. This time, it’s housing growth.

Most Tory MPs will be seeing large increases in the housing targets for their seats, while many Labour MPs see their local targets reduced.

James Frayne: Nine thousand jobs lost at Rolls Royce. The damage that the virus is wreaking on provincial Britain is terrible – and will last

It’s not only a matter of highly-skilled jobs for working class people. Firms like these gives cities like Derby a sense of immense civic pride.

Where CCHQ should move to

Our readers’ top choice was the same as Number Ten’s for the Lords: York. But a good case was made for Coventry – and Warwick University.

Iain Dale: The hustings. From Manchester to Belfast – and on to Nottingham.

Plus: Johnson, not a populist. Hunt’s beside manner. Lewis and his highly professional CCHQ team. And: the courage of 16 year old Ajay.

Iain Dale: If you’re coming to a hustings I’m chairing, draft an original question – and I’ll try to call you.

Plus: How I was booed in Birmingham. On to Nottingham…via Exeter. And: who would I vote for, if I had a vote?

The local elections revisited: an analysis of results in the East Midlands

Labour had some startling setbacks – it was usually the independents who benefitted. Elsewhere we saw Conservative losses to the Lib Dems.

Local authorities are failing to shop around for energy suppliers

Town Halls are sticking with the “big six” – spurning the chance to save money or to switch to renewables. This even applies to councils that set up their own firms.