The rise of Independents

The rise of Independents

Last week ended with the shock announcement that all the councillor’s representing Thurrock UKIP have joined a new political party called the Thurrock Independents. No doubt this was a savvy political move given the internal struggles the party is currently facing and...
The rise of Independents

Do we need to devolve or centralise?

The UK’s housing market is broken and even the Government agrees on that. But who should be responsible for fixing it? Dealing with the housing crisis is an urgent priority for both national and local government. But there is no “one size fits all” solution. Each...
The rise of Independents

The Future of Public-Private Partnerships

Plenty has been written about Carillion’s demise, and the fallout is set to intensify in the next few days as the shockwaves ripple through the economy. Already we have seen leading Civil Servants, such as Sir Jeremy Heywood, leap into action to assure people that the...
The rise of Independents

DCLG or MHCLG: What’s in a name?

Monday’s Cabinet reshuffle was portrayed as the golden opportunity for Theresa May to put aside the turbulent ending to 2017 and achieve two things: stamp her authority on the Conservative Party after a disastrous election and regalvanise her party in order to meet...
The rise of Independents

So, who is the new Housing Minister?

Dominic Raab, the 16th Housing Minister in only 20 years. His predecessor, Alok Sharma, only managed 6 months in the post, the shortest tenure in the last 20 years (which includes a further 5 Ministers who didn’t last a year). So, who is Dominic Raab? Elected to Esher...