Reform of England’s local government system is long overdue. There are currently 349 local and combined authorities with overlapping responsibilities and competing interests. This bureaucratic and complex system makes long-term strategic decision making difficult and holds back the places that need to be levelled up.
In his latest report Centre for Cities’ Policy Officer Simon Jeffrey proposed redrawing the English political map, replacing the 348 existing authorities with 69 unitary or combined ones with greater powers and resources and whose political boundaries match the economic geography in which people live and work.
For this episode of City Minutes, he joins Andrew Carter to discuss his proposals in more detail.
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City Talks: Otto Saumarez-Smith on the politics of 1960s radical urban renewal
City Horizons: Britain beyond Brexit with Gavin Kelly and Nick Pearce
City Talks: Michael Parkinson on bringing Liverpool back from the brink
City Talks: Neil O’Brien MP on building a strong national economy from the bottom up
City Talks: The rising threat of air pollution in cities – and how to fight back
City Talks: Where have all the good jobs gone? With David Blanchflower
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City Talks: Cities – the first 6,000 years
City Talks: Opportunity Zones with Bruce Katz
City Talks: Inventing future cities
City Talks: Mapping the geography of anti-EU sentiment
Event catch up: Cities Outlook 2019 launch
City Talks: A mind of its own - uncovering the psychology of cities
City Talks: How will Brexit affect cities?
City Talks: Is your council about to go bust?
City Talks: Amy Goldstein on the story of Janesville and its response to economic shock
City Talks: The UK's productivity problem and how to tackle it
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