Jack Newman
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jacknewman.bsky.social
Jack Newman
@jacknewman.bsky.social
3.4K followers 1.7K following 150 posts
Research Associate, Uni of Manchester • UK Politics • English devo • spatial inequality • place-based policy • healthy urban development • critical realism

https://research.manchester.ac.uk/en/persons/jack-newman
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jacknewman.bsky.social
🚨🆕 New paper published online today 🆕🚨

'How Democratically Elected mayors can achieve mission-oriented policies in turbulent times'

Published OPEN ACCESS in @regionalstudies.bsky.social: www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

@sarahayres.bsky.social @marksandford.bsky.social @geoffbates.bsky.social
This article explores how democratically elected mayors can achieve mission-oriented policies in turbulent times. Drawing on 132 interviews with decision-makers in England, it uses the case of healthy urban development to explore the role of elected mayors in mission delivery. Findings show that mayors can be figureheads for a place, work directly towards national missions, implement cross-cutting programmes, convene partnerships, and lead local innovations with new evidence and data. However, more central government support is needed with investment in capacity, a broader range of powers, and greater freedom from central targets and siloes.
March 28, 2025 at 10:36 AM
jacknewman.bsky.social
Always enjoy the LGC maps showing the latest progress of English devolution.

The English devo geography is finally starting to emerge - though still a lot of TBD in the South West and the wider West Midlands.

www.lgcplus.com/research/lgc...
Map showing devolution progress in England. Shows existing strategic authorities, Priority programme, foundational devolution, first mayoral elecitons May 2025, discussions ongoing, devo island, and reorganisation fast track.
February 18, 2025 at 3:23 PM
jacknewman.bsky.social
Very excited to be giving evidence before the Housing, Communities and Local Government Select Committee tomorrow.

I'll be alongisde Colin Copus, Zoë Billingham, & Joe Fyans, and followed by Tracy Brabin, Louise Gittins, and Bridget Smith.

Tune in from 10am: parliamentlive.tv/event/index/...
Upcoming events Tuesday 28 January 2025 10:00am Public English Devolution - Oral evidence 10:00am Dr Jack Newman (Research Fellow at University of Bristol) Professor Colin Copus (Emeritus Professor of Local Politics at De Montfort University) Zoë Billingham (Director at IPPR North) Joe Fyans (Head of Research at Localis) 10:45am Tracy Brabin (Mayor at West Yorkshire Combined Authority) Councillor Louise Gittins (Chair at Local Government Association, and Leader at Chester West and Cheshire Council) Cllr Bridget Smith (Vice Chair at District Councils Network, and Liberal Democrat Leader at South Cambridgeshire District Council)
January 27, 2025 at 1:52 PM
jacknewman.bsky.social
Comparison of the NHS ICS regions with the latest English devolution proposals (including existing deals, agreed deals, and proposed deals).
January 27, 2025 at 9:34 AM
jacknewman.bsky.social
🆕🚨 New paper published today with colleagues on the TRUUD Project.

📄 Are we any closer to tackling health inequalities in England?

While data on health inequality signals failure, we find glimmers of hope in new ‘opportunity spaces’ for doing things differently.

🖇️ doi.org/10.1080/2158...
Are we any closer to tackling health inequalities in England? Sarah Ayres, Jack Newman, Geoff Bates, Anna Le Gouais,Rachael McClathey & Nick Pearce ABSTRACT The aim of this article is to examine the recent progress made by Government to improve public health and address health inequality. Elected in July 2024, the Labour government has promised to deliver a transition from reactive to preventative health policy and tackle social and geographic disparities in public health. However, this government pledge is not new and recent progress has been limited. This article examines progress in an area of policy that is increasingly recognised as a critical wider determinant of health, notably the link between the urban environment and health outcomes. Our analysis is based on extensive co-production with government. Drawing on co-production logs and the fieldnotes of an embedded researcher, this article reflects on the progress made under the Conservative’s levelling up agenda and considers the potential of Labour’s health mission. Our findings reveal that, while the figures on health inequality signal failure, there are glimmers of hope in creating new ‘opportunity spaces’ for doing things differently. We conclude that the critical intersection between new social science evidence and the entrepreneurial agency of public officials will be pivotal in making any headway against this target. Moreover, this must sit alongside more government investment to improve public health.
January 8, 2025 at 3:43 PM
jacknewman.bsky.social
Came across this memorial today.

A reminder that British democracy is not some natural or ancient state. It was fought for over centuries by people from all walks of life. The campaign was repeatedly repressed by those in power.

Scottish Martyrs Memorial. Nunhead Cemetery.
Text on Scottish Martyrs memorial. The experience of all ages should have taught our rulers that persecution can never efface principles. Individuals may perish but truth is eternal. Gerrald’s defence.
December 22, 2024 at 4:20 PM
jacknewman.bsky.social
▶️ Here's a 1-minute summary of our new paper showing the places being left behind by English devolution.

📄 The Intersection of Productivity and Governance Capacity in Spatial Inequality: The Case of England’s Devolution Periphery

👥 Jack Newman & Charlotte Hoole

🖇️ doi.org/10.1080/2158...
December 20, 2024 at 9:36 AM
jacknewman.bsky.social
Next year's Greater Lincolnshire mayoral election is going to be interesting.

Here's how the votes stack up across Lincolnshire from the general election.

Might the Conservatives regret changing the voting system to first-past-the-post?
Votes across Lincolnshire at the 2024 General Election (excluding Rutland and Stamford) Other 5% Green 5% Liberal Democrat 6% Reform 24% Labour 27% Conservative 34%
December 11, 2024 at 12:00 PM
jacknewman.bsky.social
🆕🚨New paper published today🚨🆕

The intersection of productivity and governance capacity in spatial inequality: the case of England’s devolution periphery

We identify a cluster of places likely to fall further behind as English devo rolls out

Co-authored with Charlotte Hoole
doi.org/10.1080/2158...
December 4, 2024 at 10:52 AM
jacknewman.bsky.social
An interesting new report from colleagues on the TRUUD project.

A practical guide to embedding health in local plans.

Could be very useful for those working in local government.

www.tcpa.org.uk/wp-content/u...
Title page: Planning for healthy places: a practical guide for local authorities on embedding health in Local Plans and planning policies in England
November 25, 2024 at 10:19 AM
jacknewman.bsky.social
Very good report from @clesthinkdo.bsky.social & @thekingsfund.bsky.social.

The report outlines proposals for overcoming three barriers that mayors face in tackling health inequalities: the framing of devo deals, accountability & governance, and funding.

cles.org.uk/wp-content/u...
Tackling health inequalities through English devolution Tom Lloyd Goodwin, Tallulah Eyres, Luca Tiratelli, David Buck, Gwyneth Ataderie
November 21, 2024 at 1:25 PM
jacknewman.bsky.social
An excellent paper from @alexnurse.bsky.social and @oliviersykes.bsky.social summarising the recent history and forthcoming reform of England's subnational governance.

They identify four outstanding questions around spatial inequality, ongoing austerity, the council of mayors, and central control.
Title A pendulum or a stopped clock? Rupture, continuity and political change in English sub-national government under Labour Abstract This article discusses the most recent round of sub-national (i.e. local and regional) policy development under the incoming (2024) Labour Government. It unpacks the policy landscape which has tentatively emerged since the Starmer Government has taken office, and addresses the implications, questions and challenges which are immediately apparent. It suggests that, rather than simply tearing down the previous structures of sub-national governance, the incoming Labour Government is attempting to deepen those structures. Nevertheless, it therefore also concludes that many of the shortcomings and unanswered questions of the Conservative approach of the last decade therefore remain. The paper unpacks what this might mean for practitioners and researchers working in this area, contributing to emerging reflection on how the new government might be more effective in addressing the key challenges facing the United Kingdom.
November 20, 2024 at 11:15 AM
jacknewman.bsky.social
Interesting new paper from @ninadesmedt.bsky.social & colleagues.

They show that local councillors in more powerful positions are less likely to favour participatory approaches and more likely to favour traditional representation.

This creates a challenge for involving citizens in local govt.
Abstract Lately, municipalities in Western democracies have become increasingly more participatory. Local councillors have a fundamental role therein as they can either enable or block citizen participation. In that vein, their legitimacy perceptions towards different participatory arrangements seem key. This article analyses to what extent instrumental motivations steer these attitudes. Specifically, we distinguish between collective power (belonging to the governing majority or not) and individual influence (level of self-perceived political efficacy) as explanatory variables. Results based on a large-scale survey among local councillors in Flanders (Belgium) show that instrumental motivations indeed play a significant role: councillors with high levels of influence perceive traditional forms of decision-making (classic decision-making and consultative participation) as more legitimate. At the same time, majority councillors evaluate decisive forms of citizen participation as less legitimate than their colleagues in opposition. Additionally, feeling more powerful seems to be linked with an overall enthusiasm irrespective of participatory designs.
November 20, 2024 at 9:59 AM
jacknewman.bsky.social
There is a lack of geographical alignment between Mayoral Combined Authorities and Integrated Care Systems in England.

This misalignment is identified as a key barrier for realising preventative health at the regional level. It makes it harder for MCAs to collaborate with the NHS.
November 14, 2024 at 10:10 AM
jacknewman.bsky.social
Interesting paper from Ben Worthy & Megan Waugh

More open, more democratic or better at hiding? Two decades of local government transparency in the UK

🖇️ doi.org/10.1080/0300...

"FOI has made local government more transparent" but there are concerns about participation, outsourcing, & underfunding
ABSTRACTLocal government has long been the site of experiments and innovation intransparency. Since the 1990s waves of reforms have sought to open up localgovernment in Britain, from the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act in the 2000sto Open Data in the 2010s. This paper looks across the evidence to see how wellthese new transparency tools have worked, who is using them and why. It thenmoves to analyse what impact the changes have had on local government, inline with hopes of campaigners and fears of (some) politicians. Have reformssucceeded in making local government more open, more accountable andmore participative, and in what situations? Or have they, as some claim, simplydriven decision-making into other arenas, and made local bodies ‘better athiding’? Finally, how does transparency sit with the fragmented and disjointedlandscape of local politics today, from outsourcing and devolution to financialcrisis?
November 14, 2024 at 9:37 AM
jacknewman.bsky.social
Really good day at the @regstud.bsky.social WInter Conference in London. Lots of interesting papers and discussion. Plenty of hope!

I was presenting this paper with Charlotte Hoole. Full paper coming soon in Contemporary Social Science journal (with lots of juicy maps)!
The intersection of productivity and governance capacity in spatial inequality: the case of England’s devolution periphery
November 8, 2024 at 4:11 PM
jacknewman.bsky.social
Four maps on the future of English devolution

Top left: @centreforcities.bsky.social proposal
Top right: LGC map on the current state of play
Bottom left and right: two proposals from @instituteforgov.bsky.social

Noticable disagreement on the south coast and the area between London and Birmingham.
Four maps on the future of English devolution.
November 4, 2024 at 9:33 AM
jacknewman.bsky.social
This seems to be the wrong way round to me!
October 30, 2024 at 2:17 PM
jacknewman.bsky.social
Our Special Issue in Parliamentary Affairs has been published:

'Instability and Inequality in the British State'
🔗 academic.oup.com/pa/issue/77/4

SI Editors: @jacknewman.bsky.social & Patrick Diamond
Journal Editors: @louisevthompson.bsky.social & Alistair Clark
Editorial: Instability and Inequality in the British State (Patrick Diamond and Jack Newman) The Asymmetric Power Model Twenty-Years On (Dave Marsh, Dave Richards, Martin Smith) Weaponising women and gender: Party appeals to women voters ahead of the 2024 General Election (Anna Sanders and Francesca Gains) Enduring Inequalities in British Politics: Muslim Women in the Labour Party (Farah Hussain) The Challenge of Devolved English Governance and the Rise of Political Spatial Inequality (Sam Warner, Jack Newman, Patrick Diamond, Dave Richards) The British Political Tradition and Constitutional Policy: The Offer of Deliberative Mini Publics (Steph Coulter, Rebecca McKee, Jack Pannell, and Jess Sargeant) An Unstable Union? The Conservative Party, the British Political Tradition and Devolution (Paul Anderson and Coree Brown Swan) Instability, Crisis, and Statecraft in Conservative Britain, 2010-2024 (Richard Hayton) The state of British policymaking: How can UK government become more effective? (Paul Cairney, John Boswell, Sarah Ayres, Catherine Durose, Ian C. Elliott, Matt Flinders, Steve Martin, Liz Richardson)
October 22, 2024 at 1:01 PM
jacknewman.bsky.social
Great day at the Health City Design Conference on Wednesday. #HCD2024

Our panel on Health Devolution sparked some really interesting conversations. Thanks to our excellent pannellists
Kathy McLean, Michael Wood, Matt Ashton & chair Sarah Ayres.

From the TRUUD project: truud.ac.uk
Pannellists at the Healthy City Design Conference: Jack Newman, Kathy McLean, Michael Wood, Matt Ashton & chair Sarah Ayres
October 18, 2024 at 10:01 AM
jacknewman.bsky.social
Great map showing the latest progress on devolution in England

Source: Local Government Chronicle www.lgcplus.com/politics/dev...
Map showing devolution arrangements and devolution deal negotiations in difference parts of England.
October 7, 2024 at 3:38 PM
jacknewman.bsky.social
I have a new piece out today in the Local Government Chronicle (LGC):

Time to empower mayors to innovate on place-based preventative health

www.lgcplus.com/politics/dev...
Jack Newman: Time to empower mayors to innovate on place-based preventative health
October 4, 2024 at 2:51 PM
jacknewman.bsky.social
Really useful dashboard of regional regeneration in the UK from @niesrorg.bsky.social:

regional-dashboard.niesr.ac.uk
Map showing NIESR's regeneration index accross the UK.
October 3, 2024 at 3:34 PM
jacknewman.bsky.social
Really good collection of papers on English devolution from @livuniheseltine.bsky.social:

www.liverpool.ac.uk/media/livacu...
Unleashing the potential of devolution in England. Insights from the Heseltine Institute policy briefings.
October 3, 2024 at 11:55 AM
jacknewman.bsky.social
Really good piece by Luke Telford reflecting back on the failure of the Levelling Up Agenda by tracing the history of Middlesbrough within UK spatial policy.

The paper concludes that "new thinking to challenge established economic orthodoxies" is necessary to prevent a repeat of past failings.
Neoliberalism, left behind Middlesbrough and levelling up: an intractable policy task? Luke Telford Abstract
October 2, 2024 at 10:41 AM