CLES

CLES reaching 40 years is not just an organisational milestone: it is a moment to reflect on what progressive local economic change must mean in a context of economic instability, democratic disillusionment, climate crisis, rising inequality, and general social pain. I was privileged to serve as chief executive for 20 of those years, from 2000–2021, a period in which our political operating context ebbed and flowed dramatically.

The article originally appeared in the Local Government Chronicle. Unaffordability is making us sick. Across the UK, high housing costs and expensive transport are contributing to worsening public health outcomes and the widening of health inequalities. When people spend more than a third of their income on housing, they often struggle to afford essentials like food, heating and social activities.

This article originally appeared in the Local Government Chronicle. Our country faces deep and growing health challenges. But these are not simply problems for the NHS to solve. They are rooted in, and have consequences for, the wider economy and society. Poor health is now one of the most fundamental constraints on the UK’s economic performance.

Forty years ago, at the end of March 1986, the Greater London Council (GLC) and the other metropolitan counties were abolished. The threat of abolition had been present since the May 1981 local elections. After the general election of June 1983, it became government policy – part of a wider attack on local government, which included limits on how much councils could raise from local ratepayers – and later, the abolition of the rating system altogether.

In the kitchen of the CLES offices in Manchester sits a framed black-and-white photo of the first meeting of CLES, held in Norwich on 1 February 1986. It reminds us of where our story began. We were born out of difficult times, when a group of good women and men decided to rise to the challenges facing our local economies, and take collective action. We’ll never forget our origins or our purpose.

The good, the bad and the opportunities Last week was a busy one for policy and fiscal announcements in Scotland. Tuesday morning started positive, with the launch of Developing Scotland’s Economy: Increasing the role of inclusive and democratic business models, a report committed to in the National Strategy for Economic Transformation.

Strategic authorities and integrated care systems are increasingly powerful entities with the potential to tackle health inequalities and improve population health. However, achieving this will require them to work together effectively. This essay explores the changing policy context in which these bodies exist, and the way the dynamics between them could and should evolve as devolution beds in.

Tourism plays a major role in the UK economy, contributing 5 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP), supporting nearly one in fifteen jobs, and generating over £50bn in tax revenue in 2024. Yet these benefits are not always shared evenly. In many destinations, rising visitor demand has also put pressure on local communities – pushing up housing costs and increasing reliance on low‑paid, seasonal work.

Care is costly in the UK, with 70 per cent of local authority budgets spent on funding care services. Yet our analysis shows that in just three UK regions, private care providers extracted more than £250 million in profit over three years. Over a third of these companies are owned by private equity firms, organisations registered in tax havens, or entities that fall into both those brackets.

The concept of anchor institutions – organisations rooted in a place that can play a defining role in creating and reinforcing local economic ties – has been present in the UK for over 10 years. Anchor networks, which bring these organisations together in their locality, have become particularly prominent in recent years, with a spike in those set up during and after the pandemic.