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SubscriptionsCategory: Local Government
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Welsh Government Throws Down the Gauntlet in Bid to Stop Controversial ‘Anti-Boycott’ Bill
Opponents of the bill say it is designed to undermine the freedom of speech of those critical of the Israeli Government
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Johnson Loyalist Baroness Charlotte Owen Nails her Colours to the Mast in First House of Lords Votes
The youngest ever life peer cast four failed votes with the Government before she’s even made her first speech
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The Curious Case of the Crooked House: Developers Don’t Just Destroy Pubs by Tearing Them Down
Cultural vandalism takes many forms, writes Josiah Mortimer
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Councils Exposed to Corruption Due to Collapse of Local Auditing – After Accounting Firms Lobbied for Watchdog’s Abolition
Just one in nine local council audits are now conducted on time – which researchers blame on a privatised system
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Gove Fails to Tackle £100 Billion of Unaudited Local Council Accounts
A parliamentary report confirms Byline Times’ story about the collapse in the auditing of how taxpayers’ money is being spent on public services
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Council Coffers Crisis Revealed: Auditing of Public Money by Local Authorities Collapses – So How is Taxpayers’ Cash Being Spent?
Serious problems have arisen after the Government abolished the Audit Commission and handed the job to private accountancy firms instead
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Illicit Pacts and Power-Sharing: Labour Activists Face Suspensions and NEC Veto Over Council Coalitions
A party crackdown on local party cooperation is preventing Labour councillors from leveraging their election victories to unseat the Tories in some towns, Josiah Mortimer reports
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Report into Misleading Electoral Advertising Slams Conservatives, Labour and Libs Dems for Dirty Tricks on the Doorstep
Reform Political Advertising campaign report reveals scale of deceptive literature in the runup to the May local elections, as Green Party calls for greater regulation
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Protesting for Homeless Help from the Council: The ‘Crisis’ in Local Housing Services
Andrew Kersley speaks to a man awaiting the bailiffs as campaigners warn that cuts to housing services are leaving vulnerable people desperately unsupported
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Voter Plans One-Man Protest Against ‘Gerrymandering’ Mandatory Photo ID Law at Local Elections on Thursday
Just a fraction of the two million people who lack photo ID have applied for the government’s free scheme. How many will be denied a vote – or simply not bother – on Thursday? Josiah Mortimer reports
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Desperate Last Push to Get Photo ID to Voters Ahead of Mandatory Roll-Out Next Week
A last-minute rush is unlikely to be enough to prevent large numbers of people being effectively disenfranchised on 4 May, Josiah Mortimer reports
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No 10 Rejects Calls to Delay Voter ID Plans Despite Tiny Uptake of Free ID
And election experts have warned of battles at the ballot box if people are denied a vote, Josiah Mortimer reports
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‘Voter Suppression’: Huge Numbers Set to Lose Vote as Only 2.5% Of ‘Missing Millions’ Apply for Voter ID
Just 50,000 out of an estimated two million voters without ID have applied for the new ‘free’ voter identification certificate ahead of England’s local elections
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Last Ditch Bill Introduced to Scrap Mandatory Voter ID in England’s Elections this May
Lib Dems are trying to reverse the legislation they fear will cause chaos at the ballot box, while activists warn that trans people may be excluded by photo ID
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Government Offers No Dedicated Cash for Councils to Warn People they will Need Voter ID in May Elections
Councils could have to choose between hiring extra staff to implement the change or informing voters that their vote is at risk, Byline Times has learned
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REVEALED: Councils Preparing for Multi-Million-Pound Budget Overspends as Crisis and Cuts Hit
The cost of living crisis, more than a decade of cuts and the pandemic have left local authorities on the brink when it comes to key services
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After an Era of Austerity, What is Left to Cut?
Sian Norris digs into the data on a decade of cuts, assessing its impact on people and public services, as Chancellor Jeremy Hunt lines up Austerity 2.0
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New Inflation Figures Increase Pressure on Council Budgets
Council tax would need to rise by 20% to save urgently-needed public services, but how will Jeremy Hunt respond in his autumn statement?
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REVEALED: Cost of Living Crisis Piles Pressure on Children’s Homes as Gas and Energy Bills Soar
A new investigation by Sian Norris with the Byline Intelligence Team reveals rising costs are putting budgetary pressure on council-run children’s homes already feeling the strain
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Hundreds of Ukrainian Refugees Left without Welfare Checks
The second part of the Byline Intelligence Team’s exclusive investigation raises serious safeguarding concerns about the Homes for Ukraine scheme. Sascha Lavin and Sian Norris report
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Homes for Ukraine Sponsor Relationship Breakdowns Put Vulnerable Refugees at Risk
An exclusive, three-month investigation by the Byline Intelligence Team reveals the extent of relationship breakdowns in the Homes for Ukraine scheme that has left refugees at risk of exploitation and homelessness, and local councils stretched
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Government Losing Control Over Public Spending, Report Warns
The method used to track state expenditure is now ‘increasingly unreliable and incomplete’, reports David Hencke
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Turmoil Continues Over Government’s Flagship National Holocaust Memorial
Overspending and legal wrangling is causing concerns over the £100 million commemoration, reports David Hencke
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Why Did Bristol Vote to Abolish its City Mayor?
Thomas Perrett considers the reasons for the shock demise of Marvin Rees’ position, and whether this spells danger for the city-mayor model
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How the ‘Big Society’ Commodified Poor People
TJ Coles inspects how David Cameron’s widely-scorned idea ended up institutionalising a smaller state
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Five Years on From Grenfell: A Community Betrayed
Former Kensington MP Emma Dent Coad reflects on the broken social contract that has underpinned the Grenfell tragedy and the five years since
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Local Elections 2022: A False Dawn? Labour’s Success in London Masks its Deeper Problems
Labour’s local election performance spells danger for the party, argues Sam Bright
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Local Elections 2022: Boris Johnson is Leading the Conservatives to Disaster
The Conservative Party is refusing to deal with the Prime Minister’s failing leadership as he leads the UK into a recession which could expel him from office, reports Adam Bienkov
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Andy Burnham: We Need a ‘Complete Rewiring’ of Britain’s Political System
The Greater Manchester Mayor comes out in support of proportional representation and House of Lords reform, Sam Bright reports
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Rishi Sunak’s Plan to Soften Blow of Universal Credit Cut has been a £1 Billion Bust
Nic Murray explores the Chancellor’s underfunded and misjudged scheme to help deprived families make ends meet
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Political Parties Must Not Pave the Way for Perpetrators in Power
Parties must not turn a blind eye to protecting the public from perpetrators, says Jenn Selby
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‘Profiting from Putin’s Russia’: Quarter of Council Pension Funds Invested in Russian Firms
Sascha Lavin reviews the extent to which UK councils have propped up the companies linked to Putin’s war effort
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Cash-Strapped Councils and a Crisis in Children’s Care
A perfect storm of rising need, austerity and funding cuts has created a crisis in children’s social care, Sian Norris reports
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‘Levelling Up’ Fund Gives £1.25 Billion to Areas that Have Lost £25.5 Billion
Despite favourable newspaper headlines, Rishi Sunak’s spending commitments are still overwhelmed by the legacy of austerity reports Sam Bright
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How the Red Wall Has Been Levelled Down Since 2010
From child poverty to social care, some of the most disadvantaged areas of the country have faced a decade of decline at the hands of successive Conservative governments, report Sam Bright and Sascha Lavin
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To Match His Climate Rhetoric, Boris Johnson Must Axe These Five Projects
Claire Hamlett unpicks the Government schemes that are obstructing the UK’s net zero ambitions
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Healthy Life Expectancy has Fallen in 80% of ‘Red Wall’ Areas Since Conservatives Took Power
The health outcomes of the north and Midlands have been levelled down since the Conservatives took office, reports Sam Bright
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Three Key Reasons Why Boris Johnson Isn’t Serious About ‘Levelling Up’
Behind the gags, the Prime Minister’s plan for regional redistribution is woefully lacking, says Sam Bright
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300 Councils have Declared a State of Climate Emergency – But For Many It’s Just Rhetoric
Claire Hamlett reports on the factors contributing to the lack of progress by local councils to reduce carbon emissions in their areas, despite their pledges to do so
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Government Procurement and the Lack of Trust
After the scandal of crony contracts, Stephen Colegrave digs into the Government’s Green Paper setting out a new regime to regulate nearly £300 billion in public spending
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A Culture of Institutional Violence: The Lambeth Child Abuse Inquiry Exposes how the System is the Scandal
In the wake of the Lambeth Council findings by the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse, Katharine Quarmby considers why the systemic failings around locking vulnerable people up out of sight, out of mind are never acted upon
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‘Wholesale Review’ of £14 Million Grenfell Bereaved and Survivor Budget Pledged
Concerns have been mounting about the local council’s use of recovery funds following the 2017 fire, reports Sam Bright
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Government’s False Housing Policy is Sent to Coventry
Julian Mercer investigates more flaws in the Government’s housing policy, which seeks to build new homes for 80,000 ‘ghosts’ and ignores the impact of Brexit
