Latest thinking

Radical plan to devolve power to cities proposed by RSA City Growth Commission

Press release

08 Sep 2014

Giving cities the power to revalue council tax bands as well as pool and allocate central government revenue without ringfencing are just two of the recommendations made today by the RSA City Growth Commission, which has proposed the devolution of finance away from central government to city-regions.

Outdated infrastructure stifling city growth and costing UK £billions

Press release

16 Jul 2014

Investment in connectivity between northern cities should be prioritised – a ‘tube system for the north’ Government should review insufficient competition in the high-speed broadband market and insufficient fibre connectivity Metro leaders should replace departmental Permanent Secretaries on IUK Advisory Council.

Can an apprenticeship take you to the next level of your career?

Blog

08 Jul 2014

Brhmie Balaram

In short, it depends – but if you’re a woman in the UK, the odds aren't in your favour.

Fiscal Devolution: Complexity and Contradiction

Blog

07 Jul 2014

Dave Yates (Blog)

This week I have been mostly... reading about fiscal devolution.

The second battle of Orgreave

Blog

03 Jul 2014

Jonathan Schifferes

In the summer of 1984, the industrial dispute between striking miners and the national coal and steel firms came to a head in violent clashes at Orgreave, outside Sheffield. For many, the defeat of the unions signified the inevitability of de-industrialisation, and Britain’s service industries - from financial professionals to burger-flippers - have led employment growth since.

Devolve ‘impoverished’ skills strategy to metro level says RSA City Growth Commission

Press release

03 Jul 2014

The political debate around the skills agenda remains “impoverished” and it’s unclear how government initiatives add up to an overall strategy that contributes towards wider economic growth, according to a report published today by the RSA City Growth Commission, with support from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF).

Can British cities learn from US ‘networked localism’?

Blog

14 May 2014

Ben Lucas

Earlier this month, The Atlantic, one of the best public policy sites, published an interesting piece by Eric Liu about Seattle’s decision to introduce a $15 an hour minimum wage. This is an important development for a number of reasons. Firstly, it underscores the argument advanced by Bruce Katz, Benjamin Barber and others, that American cities are stepping into the public policy vacuum left by a Federal Government that can’t make anything happen.  This is a proposition that is by no means limited to the US. Here in Britain, we are also living through an era of weak executive government. The next election looks unlikely to deliver a government with a large working majority and the combination of UKIP, Scottish independence and massive voter disengagement looks set to further undermine the centre’s authority.

City connections and city identity

Blog

23 Apr 2014

Jonathan Schifferes

Can you have too much connectivity? At last week’s City Growth Commission seminar on connectivity, Mark Kleinman, (Director of Business and Economic Policy at the Greater London Authority), highlighted that connectivity is not just a factor, it’s the factor in London’s success: economic power in the global economy is defined by connectivity. The seminar considered how different forms of connectivity affect London and other UK cities.<!--more-->

Megacity 2: the right solution to mending the gap?

Blog

11 Mar 2014

Jonathan Schifferes

Recently moved from London to Bristol, a friend of mine asked me last month: “How is life in Megacity 1?”. While she moved to be closer to her work as a retail manager, she finds herself frequently coming back to London to buy clothes for her small chain of shops in the South West.