Building sub-national government
Politicians often claim commitment to decentralising the state, but once in government they are unwilling to relinquish their own power
The nature of the British political system is such that Westminster is a bastion of concentrated power. Martin Smith, Dave Richards and Patrick Diamond argue that whilst politicians may actually call for more localism, they are loath to give up their own power. Any government’s commitment to localism and devolution is undermined where there is no willingness to entertain a new […]
Liverpool’s mayoral election ‘censorship’ row
This week, every household in Liverpool will receive a booklet from the city council containing election addresses from the 12 candidates seeking to become the city’s first directly-elected mayor. In theory, this arrangement, which is used for all mayoral elections, helps to level the playing-field for candidates, providing all with an equal chance to reach the electorate. […]
Who governs Merseyside? The significance of Heseltine’s new report
Anyone who took part in our ‘Who governs Merseyside?‘ event at the Bluecoat on 6 October will surely attest that the quality of the debate was exceptionally high. The ‘expert panel’ more than lived up to its billing, despite the fact that two of its members were unable to attend on the night. Yet, we barely […]
Democratic Audit's core funding is provided by the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust. Additional funding is provided by the London School of Economics.