Abstract problems such as economic growth or environmental peril can weigh less with voters than concrete questions about the health of their town or where they’re going to live.
Stability and market confidence have been re-established. That allows the possibility to relax the planned fiscal restraint over the next two years, if global economic circumstances improve.
The effect can be seen in shop vacancy rates, with the highest rates seen in the North East, the Midlands, and Wales.
Councils have retained more Business Rates as an incentive to boost enterprise. But it has been mooted that receipts grown by individual councils will be redistributed.
Throwing taxpayers’ money around fails. What will restore pride to left-behind areas, and create new opportunities, is private initiative.
Without the recovery of areas like the West End, and the Business Rates it provides, the Chancellor will struggle.
The Chancellor’s team reportedly wants to cut it from 20 per cent to 19 per cent in 2023. Here’s why that wouldn’t be a good idea.
Plus: Winchester’s woeful welcome. Test Valley Borough Council in Hampshire has managed to cut its stationery costs by £55,000.
In the run up to the White Paper on Levelling Up, our interview with the former Chancellor opens this week’s ConHome series on localism.
Approval for the idea provided welcome relief from the dirigiste gushing at the select committee hearing this week.
For those of us living in the countryside, there was little new to get excited about in the Chancellor’s Budget.
When Eastbourne pier is once more thronged with French teenagers, we can heave a sigh of relief.
One of the more seductive myths in the housing debate is that there is enough brownfield land to satisfy our building needs.
It now needs to get real. This is clearly the plan in the next few months, starting with the Queen’s Speech tomorrow, leading to the Levelling Up paper.
Downing Street needs to be laser-focused on the issues which matter most to voters – not gimmicks or distractions like privatising Channel 4.