James Bowman
jamesbowmanpwc.bsky.social
James Bowman
@jamesbowmanpwc.bsky.social
PwC Partner - Leading PwC UK Local Public Services Consulting. #localgov booster in all I do.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/james-bowman-5034582
A Tower of London rainbow - #London looking beautiful earlier today
September 3, 2025 at 10:25 PM
A beautiful sunset and evening in #Liverpool. Very much looking forward to seeing lots of #localgov friends here over the next few days at the #lgaconference
June 30, 2025 at 8:17 PM
Just about the busiest #lgcawards I can remember. Good luck to all nominated. A fab night ahead.
June 11, 2025 at 6:27 PM
Reposted by James Bowman
“The money is being spent in the local economy, it’s helping to safeguard and create jobs, it’s reducing antisocial behaviour and, ultimately, it’s providing homes for people locally.”

Steve Grimshaw explains how Kent County Council brought 8,607 empty properties back into use 🔗
How We Did It: Unlocking empty properties to tackle the housing crisis - New Local
Steve Grimshaw explains how Kent County Council brought more than 8,000 empty properties back into use over 20 years.
buff.ly
April 4, 2025 at 12:17 PM
Beautiful day and rainbow in #Belfast today.
March 28, 2025 at 6:25 PM
Great view from our #Belfast office this morning
March 28, 2025 at 10:13 AM
Our fantastic PwC Local Public Services Consulting team continues to grow.

If you are a problem solver with a passion for Local Public Services and a track record of delivering then please do check out the link below.

The roles are UK wide.

pwc.wd3.myworkdayjobs.com/CRM_Experien...
Consulting - Local Public Services - Senior Manager
Line of Service Advisory Industry/Sector Aerospace and Defence Specialism Advisory - Other Management Level Senior Manager Job Description & Summary About the role: PwC has the UKs largest Local P...
pwc.wd3.myworkdayjobs.com
March 28, 2025 at 8:02 AM
This is so so hard to read. Currently on holiday with my children and trying find ways to explain staying safe, and why people do such things to us just for who we are.

www.bbc.com/news/article...
February 22, 2025 at 5:14 PM
Stumbled on a rare case of QTWTAIY - “Will MySpace ever lose its monopoly” @rentouljohn.bsky.social www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
Victor Keegan: Will MySpace ever lose its monopoly?
Rupert Murdoch's influence could eventually extend in ways that would make his grip on satellite television seem parochial, says Victor Keegan.
www.theguardian.com
February 22, 2025 at 1:43 PM
Continuing the irregular series of
“Pictures passing through stations with unusual names”. #localgov
February 10, 2025 at 11:16 PM
The English Devolution White Paper has seen a flurry of activity across the country. Less commented on is how the paper resets the Government’s narrative and view on London and invites the question of where next for London? #localgov #london

www.linkedin.com/pulse/now-ti...
Is now the time to get excited about the future of London governance?
The English Devolution White Paper has seen a flurry of activity across the country. Less commented on is how the paper resets the Government’s narrative and view on London and invites the question of...
www.linkedin.com
January 30, 2025 at 3:56 PM
Passing through the station with the best name in the UK. Any better ones?
January 29, 2025 at 11:48 AM
Properly enjoyed reading the Government's policy paper "A blueprint for modern digital government" this week.

Was obviously a bit biased given I saw our work with LB Hillingdon was showcased as a good practice example of "Harnessing the power of AI for the public good".

www.gov.uk/government/p...
A blueprint for modern digital government (HTML)
www.gov.uk
January 23, 2025 at 10:28 PM
As councils across the country respond to the English Devolution White Paper, we have been reflecting on the importance of getting the geography right when developing proposals for local government reorganisation. #localgov

www.themj.co.uk/mapping-loca...
Mapping local government reorganisation
It is only a month since publication of the white paper on English Devolution, we know that three-quarters of the councils due to hold elections in May have requested...
www.themj.co.uk
January 22, 2025 at 9:55 AM
Although I’m glad Social Care is rising up the agenda - reality is we know most of what the Independent Commission will say. I would prefer the time is used to begin to actually make the changes. I worry the looming next election when Commission reports in 2028 will mean we lose (yet another) cycle.
January 3, 2025 at 11:32 AM
Reposted by James Bowman
I post an update on this every year. The centralisation of the UK public sector continues - with the move from #localgov to #centralgov employment. This is a systemic change that has come without a public debate. h/t @thomasforth
December 21, 2024 at 8:00 AM
I post an update on this every year. The centralisation of the UK public sector continues - with the move from #localgov to #centralgov employment. This is a systemic change that has come without a public debate. h/t @thomasforth
December 21, 2024 at 8:00 AM
Reposted by James Bowman
We were proud to see our work quoted in today’s Devolution White Paper.

It’s an opportunity for the #localgov reorganisations to be used to deliver ambitious transformations, not simply keeping the as-is and merging into different sized units.

Many lessons learnt from the previous rounds too.
December 16, 2024 at 10:30 PM
We were proud to see our work quoted in today’s Devolution White Paper.

It’s an opportunity for the #localgov reorganisations to be used to deliver ambitious transformations, not simply keeping the as-is and merging into different sized units.

Many lessons learnt from the previous rounds too.
December 16, 2024 at 10:30 PM
Reposted by James Bowman
"Rather than a zero-sum wrangle between tiers, we need to ensure empowered, confident governing institutions emerge and evolve to face out to communities"

@jesstud.bsky.social on the strategy that's needed for public service reform 🔗 www.lgcplus.com/politics/dev...
Jessica Studdert: The roots of a more radical shift are being established
The government needs an overarching strategy for public service reform that dispenses with tradition...
www.lgcplus.com
December 9, 2024 at 1:40 PM
It’s been coming but that’s quite the moment. 💚💚💚
Tuesday good news #2 - more power will be generated by renewables than fossil fuels in the UK this year, according to Ember
December 10, 2024 at 8:07 PM

A good thread on yesterday’s speech. A lot of the coverage has focused on the “startup” comment. Look beyond that and there are areas that #localgov + localists have been asking for for a long time.

“the centre will not dictate how to do things - we set a problem and equip them to get on with it”
Went to the speech this morning. A few thoughts. TL;DR - I thought it was really good, but of course lots of tricky challenges to work through. 🧵
I know people will be irked by the word ‘start-up’ here but I do think this is a meaningful step in the right direction. The basic principles they’re gesturing to must be right. 1/n
December 10, 2024 at 7:49 AM
100% agree with this. I moved my old CD player from shed back into the house last year. It’s sounds so much better than listening to the streams. Also has got me back into the love of listening to a whole album again.
This CD player was my birthday present in 1997 along with the incomparable Fresh Hits 1997. I found it recently and COULD NOT BELIEVE how rich the sound was, after years of streaming Spotify on my phone. My column today is about this phenomenon, which I’m calling “qualitynesia” on.ft.com/3ZlwHf5
December 4, 2024 at 7:21 AM
A great Saturday evening in the #Arsenal away end. 7 goals in the half. Wasn’t even a queue on the way back to the station as the #WestHam fans had left early.
November 30, 2024 at 10:06 PM
Helpful infographic showing the current #localgov sizes. Expect the direction of travel in the White Paper to move towards much larger authorities for new Unitaries than these averages.
What's the median population size for unitaries, counties and London authorities?

From the Institute for Government:
November 29, 2024 at 7:54 AM