This is really interesting and valuable work! Reviewing recent devolution proposals, including ours from last year:

fabians.org.uk/publication/a-…

Franchising buses across England could make a real visible difference to towns and cities in a (relatively!) short time

As we're starting to see in Greater Manchester with Andy Burnham

Great to see Labour take this forward, as we argued last year:

fabians.org.uk/publication/a-…

Wonderful to see The Fabian Society research quoted in this excellent article from gabyhinsliff on MIMBYS.

Our work shows 58% of England back building where it is currently prohibited or restricted (i.e. Green Belt).

But communication matters.

theguardian.com/commentisfree/…

“If the public are not Nimbys, they’re not Yimbys either.”

Great to speak to City A.M. about how housing can be a vote winner for Labour, and The Fabian Society research on the Green Belt.

cityam.com/labours-yimby-…

A great example of 'fiscal devolution' in practice

Targeted levies and charges, used to reinvest in the economy

Nothing scary - they don't disrupt tax/spend redistribution

But an important tool for local policy makers

They need more

As we argued:

fabians.org.uk/publication/eq…

This is the right position on green belt.

We need to plan and develop 'grey belt' properly and improve access to green space.

Neither NIMBY, nor free-for-all YIMBY. Just sensible.

And that's what the public want.

As we Ben Cooper argued here:
fabians.org.uk/wp-content/upl…

This is how Labour wins the election - not the coming one, but the one after (if they win the first!)

They need to deliver real change in 5 years - to do that, they must let mayors and councils lead

Couple of additional points:

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My latest column for Left Foot Forward ⬇️🌹

Keep an eye out for our upcoming Fabian report on this topic (in partnership with FEPS) which explores how we can measure people’s sense of day-to-day control over their lives.

Really interesting work

Accountability is vital for the effectiveness of MCAs and international evidence links good governance to 'inclusive growth'

Current shortcomings are no a reason to hold back, as some would say, but to develop more comprehensive subnational governance

“No compelling examples” of delivery from more than £10bn in levelling up funds, some of them dating back to before this parliament, according to the public accounts committee. Just 10% has been spent on the ground:

on.ft.com/3wUSvUp

Absolutely. 👏👏👏

Provocative labelling aside…that’s not far from what we sketched out here

But the only thing that really makes sense at that geography is inter-city transport and collaboration on energy and innovation

Other countries do a lot at this tier of course

ippr-org.files.svdcdn.com/production/Dow…

Yet another great example of good housing development in Manchester.

Ancoats is just a great place to live and to hang out. Wish I was still in my 20s to enjoy it fully!

👇

Sounds very much like what we proposed here: fabians.org.uk/wp-content/upl…

Really well informed and balanced piece this.

Worth a read (the review…probably not the book)