July 2011

Guest post by Steve Dyson: Who’s got the balls to discuss dog shit?

By:
Published July 5, 2011, in Elected mayors


Steve Dyson is a former editor of the Birmingham Mail. In 2007, he raised around 10,000 signatures with a petition to try to force a referendum on an elected mayor for Birmingham. He’s now a freelance journalist, broadcaster and media consultant. You can reach him .  

 

You know what it’s like when you find yourself hemmed in between tedious neighbours discussing boundaries, tree heights and fence preservatives.

Your eye-contact flickers, your mind wanders, the left side actively starts thinking about lunch, the right side waits to pounce on a moment’s pause to make your excuses and pretend to go to post a letter.

That feeling has started to emerge during recent discourse between local politicians, businessmen and various hangers-on about what an elected mayor may or may not mean for Birmingham.

Educated but repetitive participants have become too engrossed in bland, general statements or half-hearted challenges about reputation, prestige, the economy, commerce and

Continues…

Leicester mayor faces allegations from ousted chief executive

By:
Published July 2, 2011, in Elected mayors


Sir Peter Soulsby

This could be an indication of what’s to come in cities like Birmingham: Leicester’s elected mayor Sir Peter Soulsby is embroiled in a dispute with his council chief executive.

Mayor Soulsby announced that the role of chief executive Sheila Lock would be abolished shortly after he was elected in May. , Ms Lock has put in a formal complaint that she has been unfairly treated by the Mayor.

The

The criticisms included a complaint about the announcement of her proposed redundancy during a press conference in May.

Ms Lock said the announcement generated publicity about how much would be saved if her post was abolished – something from which other

Continues…

Show me the money

By:
Published July 1, 2011, in LEPs


Image via Wikipedia

Nick Clegg’s confirmation that councils will be able to retain the business rates they collect is perhaps the most important piece of the Government’s growing localism agenda.

It wasn’t a new announcement, sure, but as the the policy will do much to incentivise local authorities to attract, nurture and retain businesses that can bring with them sustainable income streams via their rates bills as well as jobs for citizens.

As CfC says:

Currently, English city councils get no direct financial benefit from supporting new development. There’s evidence to suggest that this has constrained their expansion, restricted the supply of offices and factories, and ultimately driven up the cost of the premises for business. This has been detrimental for economic growth.

As well as the economic benefits, the policy provides businesses with a strong incentive to engage with local authorities via relationships that are much more constructive than some that exist at the

Continues…

  • Chamber Tweets

  • Published by

    .

  • Subscribe


  • Weekly bulletins

 
%d bloggers like this: