Welcome Cllr Marianne Overton MBE Leader of the LGA Independent - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Welcome Cllr Marianne Overton MBE

Leader of the LGA Independent Group and Vice Chair of the LGA

The LGA: The Year Ahead

Cllr James Jamieson

Chairmen, LGA

Mark Lloyds

Chief Executive, LGA

The changing nature of British politics

Tony Travers London School of Economics & Political Science

The decline of the ‘two party’ system has

• ccurred gradually since the 1960s
• ‘Con & Lab’ vote is in long-term gradual decline
• 2017 showed a sudden reversal of this trend, almost certainly because of a

Brexit ‘overlay’ of traditional party voting

• 2019 proved a remarkably successful one for Liberal Democrat and

Independent councillors

• In Scotland and Wales, SNP and Plaid Cymru have eaten into the ‘two

party’ vote

• The use of PR voting in sub-national and EU elections has encouraged

wider voting choices

• The recent Parliament saw a profusion of ‘independents’
• Identification with parties is also in long-term decline

Vote share of two largest parties; all other parties

1950 to 2019 general elections

Recent opinion poll average for 2019 Con & Lab = 63-64% 1955 Con & Lab = 96%

Party affiliation of councillors (GB)

• 1973 to 2019

Local election results 2019

Source: BBC

MPs at dissolution of Parliament

Council mayoral elections 2019

Source: House of Commons Library

SNP and Plaid Cymru vote shares

1929 to 2015 general elections

Source: David Sanders, Journal of the British Academy 5, 91–124. DOI https://doi.org/10.5871/jba/005.091

Councils controlled and councillor numbers

England Wales Scotland PR makes a difference

Decline of party identification

• 1964 to 2015

Source: David Sanders, Journal of the British Academy

Identification with the major parties

• 1964 to 2015

Source: David Sanders, Journal of the British Academy

The future - 1

The future - 2

• There is no evidence that the fragmentation of the ‘two party’ vote is

slowing down

• If anything, Brexit may hasten further shifts of loyalty and voting
• Voters shift party from election to election far more than in the past
• It is possible the traditional parties can re-align themselves and halt

fragmentation and decline, or that independent MPs and councillors will grow in number

• ‘Independents’ remain independent and thus can benefit from these

changes but cannot really plan to do so

• Or can they?

The changing nature of British politics

Tony Travers London School of Economics & Political Science

Climate Emergency: What next? Dr Ian Smith Dr Louise Reardon (apologies)

Read More Read More

The Climate Change Challenge:

what is the scope for local government action?

Presentation by Ian Smith Senior Lecturer and Programme Leader for Business Management & Economics 8, November 2019

Who am I? Why am I out front here?

• The science of climate change is clear and

unambiguous

• The political and technical solutions that can

generate sufficient consensus are less clear

• My ‘claims’ on knowing stuff:
• Research on how institutional partnerships work

(eg multi-agency, interdependent partnerships) around multi-sectoral problems

• Research on how climate change solutions are

framed by social structures/practices (ie how people live in your area)

• Research on what motivates people to engage in

collective action on climate change responses

Collective action problems

• 1. How do you manage ‘collective goods’/the ‘commons’

i. “benign climate” is a collective good

• ii. Free riding/cheating
• 2. Dissonance issues – who consumes (carbon), who pays (for

consequences) i. Geographic (within and across areas)

• ii. Time (inter-generational)
• iii. Problematic for politics of ‘local’ government
• 3. “Wicked” or “complicated” problem(s)?
• 4. None of this is an excuse for doing nothing

• Climate change impacts

Broad areas of potential LG action

• 1. Reduce the climate impact of ‘own’ operations
• 2. Reduce the climate impact of all activities within

your area:

• i. Regulating function
• ii. Leadership function
• 3. Reduce fuel poverty in your area
• 4. Prepare your area for the changes that are inevitable
• i. Build resilience
• ii. Avoid creating future problems

Conclusions (SNACC): ways forward

• What are ‘no regrets’ possibilities?
• Do not frame approach around ‘climate change’
• Target areas with historic environmental vulnerability

flooding/overheating

• Think about adaptation and mitigation at the same time

For more information

• For suburban adaptation to climate change (SNACC project):
• https://www.arcc-network.org.uk/snacc/
• For understanding why people self organise on climate change issues

(SELFCITY project):

• https://selfcity-project.com/en/

What is the role of Local Government in Provincial England in 2020s on climate related issues?

• Which of the headings are you working under?
• How do you balance ‘stewardship’ vs as ‘political mandate’?
• Do you lead as ‘climate justice champion’ or as ‘parsimonious

manager’?

• Do you frame/co-opt ‘civic society’ or listen to it (outside of election

time)?

• What is right balance of local control vs common regulation?

Lunch Cllr Marianne Overton MBE

Leader of the LGA Independent Group and Vice Chair of the LGA

Workshops

2.30pm 3.45pm In Administration Bevan Hall Working with the Media Sm Sq 1 & 2 Being effective in Administration In Opposition Sm Sq 1 & 2 Effective Opposition Bevan Hall Working with the Media

Speaker’s Corner Cllr Clive Woodbridge

Deputy Leader of the LGA Independent Group and Deputy Chair of the LGA

Close Cllr Marianne Overton MBE

Leader of the LGA Independent Group and Vice Chair of the LGA