Paul Hayes
@paulhayes01.bsky.social
Senior Policy Fellow, Leeds University Business School. Defrocked #localgov policy bod. Into: Cities, Devo, Councils, Localism and all things The North. Doesn't have a podcast.
Reposted by Paul Hayes
Interesting article on the impact of free transport schemes (eg concessionary bus passes).
Finds: “… most free transportation initiatives around the world enhance physical health, mental well-being, and socioeconomic outcomes… [and] promote social inclusion…”
Finds: “… most free transportation initiatives around the world enhance physical health, mental well-being, and socioeconomic outcomes… [and] promote social inclusion…”
The health and socioeconomic impacts of free transportation initiatives: A scoping review
Free access to transportation is essential for maintaining excellent health and achieving socioeconomic stability. However, obstacles continue to exis…
www.sciencedirect.com
August 11, 2025 at 1:58 PM
Interesting article on the impact of free transport schemes (eg concessionary bus passes).
Finds: “… most free transportation initiatives around the world enhance physical health, mental well-being, and socioeconomic outcomes… [and] promote social inclusion…”
Finds: “… most free transportation initiatives around the world enhance physical health, mental well-being, and socioeconomic outcomes… [and] promote social inclusion…”
Who could have guessed it?
#localgov
Reform’s Olympic champion mayor goes to war with his staff
www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/202...
#localgov
Reform’s Olympic champion mayor goes to war with his staff
www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/202...
Reform’s Olympic champion mayor goes to war with his staff
Luke Campbell says Hull and East Yorkshire combined authority officials are ‘blocking’ his agenda – they say he’s created toxic environment
www.telegraph.co.uk
August 11, 2025 at 8:27 AM
Who could have guessed it?
#localgov
Reform’s Olympic champion mayor goes to war with his staff
www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/202...
#localgov
Reform’s Olympic champion mayor goes to war with his staff
www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/202...
Reposted by Paul Hayes
Increasingly convinced the cheapest way to address this is to reverse local government austerity. Returning English local authority budgets to 2010 levels would cost about £7bn. Factor in population and demographic change and you'd want maybe £15bn. Benefits could be seen quickly and felt widely.
"The truly unnerving thing about the fall of Rome (yes, I’m going there again, sorry) was that most Romans probably didn’t notice it had happened."
Morning all!
Morning all!
The decline and fall of Great Britain
From the graffiti to the economy, a sense of terminal rot has set in.
www.newstatesman.com
July 21, 2025 at 1:00 PM
Increasingly convinced the cheapest way to address this is to reverse local government austerity. Returning English local authority budgets to 2010 levels would cost about £7bn. Factor in population and demographic change and you'd want maybe £15bn. Benefits could be seen quickly and felt widely.
Time for me to reverse the snip? Oh no, I was born in *Germany*....
I regret to inform you that Matt Goodwin has been drawing graphs again.
June 4, 2025 at 8:22 AM
Time for me to reverse the snip? Oh no, I was born in *Germany*....
How to win friends and influence people (local govt edition). Look forward to the court cases on this one.
June 4, 2025 at 6:44 AM
How to win friends and influence people (local govt edition). Look forward to the court cases on this one.
My gut feeling about migration: It's not the economy, or culture, it's some far more visceral psychosexual fear amongst the 'nationalists.' If someone said: "We'll let in every migrant or asylum seeker that asks - just as long as none are male", be interesting to see how the narrative changed.
May 12, 2025 at 5:58 PM
My gut feeling about migration: It's not the economy, or culture, it's some far more visceral psychosexual fear amongst the 'nationalists.' If someone said: "We'll let in every migrant or asylum seeker that asks - just as long as none are male", be interesting to see how the narrative changed.
"Island of Strangers." Worst Enya album ever.
May 12, 2025 at 5:41 PM
"Island of Strangers." Worst Enya album ever.
Just what is it about national politicians and flags on town halls? news.sky.com/story/politi...
Politics latest: Row over Reform plan to ban some flags from being flown
The fallout continues from last week's election results, with an ex-minister urging Keir Starmer to change course. It comes as Reform sets out its agenda for councils it now controls - with a flag ban...
news.sky.com
May 5, 2025 at 3:29 PM
Just what is it about national politicians and flags on town halls? news.sky.com/story/politi...
So, no equality and inclusion functions and no hybrid working in Reform controlled councils. Last officer out better remember to turn the lights off.
May 2, 2025 at 5:46 PM
So, no equality and inclusion functions and no hybrid working in Reform controlled councils. Last officer out better remember to turn the lights off.
"The city's approach, focused on upgrading existing bus service - including core routes that run every 5 minutes - rather than investing in expensive capital projects, led to a 288% increase in ridership from 2004 to 2018, with a relatively low public subsidy." www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
How Did This Suburb Figure Out Mass Transit?
Transit ridership is off the charts in Brampton, Ontario, despite its typical low-density suburban layout. Here’s how the city got residents to get on the bus.
www.bloomberg.com
April 30, 2025 at 3:18 PM
"The city's approach, focused on upgrading existing bus service - including core routes that run every 5 minutes - rather than investing in expensive capital projects, led to a 288% increase in ridership from 2004 to 2018, with a relatively low public subsidy." www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
@kerstenengland.bsky.social and I do a little thing about bringing together academics and local govt folk for Local Government Chronicle www.lgcplus.com/idea-exchang...
How our region harnessed university power to boost capacity | Local Government Chronicle (LGC)
A unique collaboration between universities and local government in Yorkshire and the Humber has provided policy support for councils across the region,
www.lgcplus.com
April 25, 2025 at 10:20 AM
@kerstenengland.bsky.social and I do a little thing about bringing together academics and local govt folk for Local Government Chronicle www.lgcplus.com/idea-exchang...
Reposted by Paul Hayes
Local government core spending fell sharply during the austerity years and has not yet recovered.
While there has been some recovery in core spending power since the mid-2010s, this has been primarily driven by increasing Council Tax - which is highly regressive.
While there has been some recovery in core spending power since the mid-2010s, this has been primarily driven by increasing Council Tax - which is highly regressive.
April 21, 2025 at 6:53 PM
Local government core spending fell sharply during the austerity years and has not yet recovered.
While there has been some recovery in core spending power since the mid-2010s, this has been primarily driven by increasing Council Tax - which is highly regressive.
While there has been some recovery in core spending power since the mid-2010s, this has been primarily driven by increasing Council Tax - which is highly regressive.
The Guardian comes out for Unite.
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...?
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...?
The Guardian view on Birmingham’s bin strikes: a wake-up call for Labour | Editorial
Editorial: England’s second city has become a symbol of political dysfunction. But the government should also draw wider lessons from the chaos
www.theguardian.com
April 17, 2025 at 9:35 AM
The Guardian comes out for Unite.
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...?
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...?
Via the politico newsletter. See that Rachel Reeves promised Bonfire Of The Consultants going well.
April 16, 2025 at 4:19 PM
Via the politico newsletter. See that Rachel Reeves promised Bonfire Of The Consultants going well.
Local govt Top Tip for today.
More generally, if you're expecting to take control of a council in 2025 and start by cracking down on tonnes of frivolous waste, then you're in for a very disappointing and frustrating time.
April 16, 2025 at 1:57 PM
Local govt Top Tip for today.
These are definitely worth it. E. G. "When you take power, you think the point is to have smart ideas. When you
leave, all your praise is for the rare officials who just know how to get things done."
leave, all your praise is for the rare officials who just know how to get things done."
on Twitter I once put together a thread of policy sayings; it got picked up in Whitehall and made some part of a course.
www.civilservant.org.uk/library/Wilk...
H/t to a new Flint colleague, a new one:
If you find yourself the only spad on an issue, this is probably because the issue sucks
www.civilservant.org.uk/library/Wilk...
H/t to a new Flint colleague, a new one:
If you find yourself the only spad on an issue, this is probably because the issue sucks
www.civilservant.org.uk
April 16, 2025 at 1:54 PM
These are definitely worth it. E. G. "When you take power, you think the point is to have smart ideas. When you
leave, all your praise is for the rare officials who just know how to get things done."
leave, all your praise is for the rare officials who just know how to get things done."
Almost as if Compulsory Competitive Tendering, 'Best Value' and Austerity driven 'Transformation' programmes never happened in English local government.
Nigel Farage: We need a DOGE for every single county council in England.
#bbclaurak
#bbclaurak
April 15, 2025 at 3:03 PM
Almost as if Compulsory Competitive Tendering, 'Best Value' and Austerity driven 'Transformation' programmes never happened in English local government.
Sounds reasonable. conservativehome.com/2025/04/11/a...
April 14, 2025 at 6:52 AM
Sounds reasonable. conservativehome.com/2025/04/11/a...
Good piece here on town & parish councils. It isn't all Dibley out there: "The Society of Local Council Clerks reported an average turnover rate for clerk from 25% to 30% – compared to the UK’s typical turnover rate of 12% to 15%. conservativehome.com/2025/04/11/a...
Alberto Costa: Dealing with dysfunctional Parish and Town Councils | Conservative Home
Perhaps it’s time to keep the cameras rolling for greater transparency. Sunlight, after all, is the best disinfectant.
conservativehome.com
April 14, 2025 at 6:52 AM
Good piece here on town & parish councils. It isn't all Dibley out there: "The Society of Local Council Clerks reported an average turnover rate for clerk from 25% to 30% – compared to the UK’s typical turnover rate of 12% to 15%. conservativehome.com/2025/04/11/a...
Reposted by Paul Hayes
Yes, this is exactly how this approach to council tax should work. A house is now back out for sale as opposed to ending up in the hands of an accidental landlord with no clue on housing law and learning as you go.
www.thetimes.com/business-mon...
www.thetimes.com/business-mon...
I inherited my parents’ house, now I’m classed as a second-home owner
Kath Nugent’s surprise £4,900 council tax bill highlights how new rules are forcing people to sell homes they’d prefer to keep
www.thetimes.com
April 14, 2025 at 5:50 AM
Yes, this is exactly how this approach to council tax should work. A house is now back out for sale as opposed to ending up in the hands of an accidental landlord with no clue on housing law and learning as you go.
www.thetimes.com/business-mon...
www.thetimes.com/business-mon...
Wait until they come up against the reality of 'The Monitoring Officer'and 'The Section 151 Officer'.
Good to see Laura Kuenssberg asking Nigel Farage how Reform UK will run councils if the party is successful in the locals
I revealed last week that Reform has yet to finalise its plans for how it will run councils
www.politicshome.com/news/article...
I revealed last week that Reform has yet to finalise its plans for how it will run councils
www.politicshome.com/news/article...
Reform Is Yet To Decide How It Will Run Councils
Reform UK has not yet finalised how it will run councils if it wins them on 1 May, after the person asked to complete the work resigned.
www.politicshome.com
April 13, 2025 at 10:54 AM
Wait until they come up against the reality of 'The Monitoring Officer'and 'The Section 151 Officer'.
Tonight's discussion: "Who would have made a great Blue Peter presenter?". Think my suggestion of Jonathan Meades wins hands down.
April 12, 2025 at 7:13 PM
Tonight's discussion: "Who would have made a great Blue Peter presenter?". Think my suggestion of Jonathan Meades wins hands down.
The Telegraph with an interesting definition of 'human rights' here.
April 12, 2025 at 8:23 AM
The Telegraph with an interesting definition of 'human rights' here.