Beyond the ballot: the state of English local government

Speakers:

• Laura Shoaf, Chief Executive, West Midlands Combined Authority 
• Heather Jameson, Editor, The Municipal Journal
• Keiran Pedley, Director, Politics, Ipsos

Too often, local election results are only scrutinised as an (unreliable) way to predict national voting trends and forecast general election results. In this event, Re:State will instead gather a high-profile panel to analyse what the May elections tell us about the health of the local public sector and the prospects for further devolution to, and evolution within, local government itself.

The Combined Authority model is on the ballot in these elections. More regional mayoral elections will be held this year than ever before, and a raft of high-profile mayoral candidates will be standing for election and re-election.

Meanwhile, many councils have faced major financial strain this year, prompting cuts to local services and rising council tax, raising fundamental questions as to the sustainability of local public service delivery in England.

Reform was delighted to host an online webinar panel event with Laura Shoaf, Chief Executive, West Midlands Combined Authority, Heather Jameson, Editor, The Municipal Journal, and Keiran Pedley, Director, Politics, Ipsos on what the local elections tell us about future prospects for sustainable, empowered, and ‘levelled up’ local government.