Mayors are not for everywhere Andy Burnham’s outrage when he appeared to learn by text that Greater Manchester wouldn’t receive the same Covid-19 support as London gave England’s directly elected mayors a new profile. Burnham is better known for being mayor of Greater Manchester than he ever was as a […]

Levelling Up White Paper: a response from the central South In mid-March, the Southern Policy Centre held a webinar to discuss the Government’s Levelling Up and Devolution White Paper [1]with speakers from local councils, business and national think tanks. Here SPC Director John Denham reflects on some of the challenges […]

Levelling Up White Paper 2022 An online seminar to discuss the implications of the levelling up white paper on our region was held on 17th March 2022.  We were joined by Akash Paun and Alex Nice from the Institute for Government think tank and over 50 participants from across the […]

Levelling up and devolution: what might it mean for the central South ‘Levelling up’ – ensuring there is equality of opportunity across all parts of the United Kingdom – is a key theme for Boris Johnson’s Government. We are promised a White Paper in the autumn which will address regional […]

Time for London and the South East to listen to Frank This is a guest post by Nick Bowes. Nick is Chief Executive of Centre for London. He was most recently the Mayoral Director of Policy at the Greater London Authority. Nick has previously worked at the Royal Society, EEF […]

Levelling up: making the case for investment in the central South This new report from Southern Policy Centre was launched on July 30th 2021 and asks whether the central South risks losing out to areas in the Midlands and the North in the Government’s Levelling Up agenda. There is a […]

Making the most of devolution The Southern Policy Centre’s seminar ‘What does the central South want from devolution?’ drew in regional leaders from local government, business, and further and higher education. With a number of related media stories and government announcements since the seminar, it’s worth looking at how any […]

How can the central South benefit from the government’s new devolution plans? Seminar Notes 9th July 2020 Panel members: Stewart Dunn, Chair, Southern Policy Centre Professor John Denham, Director, Southern Policy Centre Mark Sandford, Senior Research Analyst, House of Commons Library Nick King, Centre for Policy Studies Cllr Vikki Slade, […]

What next for devolution in central southern England? Briefing Note from the Southern Policy Centre. With a new devolution White Paper likely to be published soon, it seems Ministers will make devolution to our larger cities and regions part of their planning for economic recovery. In 2019 the Southern Policy […]

Realising the Potential of the Wider South East Realising the Potential of the Wider South East technical symposium organised by L&WSE Strategic Planning Network. The symposium aimed to facilitate a conversation between strategic thinkers on opportunities for collective research and collaboration, in particular the scope for adopting a wider and […]

Is there a strategy for the central South? September 2019 conference Briefing Note Download a copy of the report here The challenge This project was prompted by widely shared fears that central southern England is neither gaining the resources and power of other regions, nor promoting itself effectively to private […]

Is there a strategy for the central South? Conference presentation September 2019 On 20 September 2019, SPC introduced their research on whether the variety of plans and strategies published by councils and LEPs across the central South together present a clear narrative about our ambitions for the future. Evidence from […]

Is there a strategy for the central South? 2019 Seminar findings and reports Three seminars were held in 2019 as part of the Regional Strategy Project to focus on the various challenges facing the central South.  Seminar 1 focused on the Economic Challenge; Seminar 2 discussed spaces for business; Seminar […]

LEPs and the central South: a summary of our breakfast seminar in conjunction with PwC Since their establishment in 2010, Local Enterprise Partnerships have been integral to economic growth across England, providing a channel for government investment in infrastructure, skills and innovation. A joint Southern Policy Centre/PwC seminar held at […]

Is there a strategy for the central South? A new SPC project. There is a widely-shared fear that central southern England is not attracting the additional resources and powers that are being enjoyed in other regions. The former Treasury Minister, Lord Jim O’Neill, has criticised previous devolution proposals from central […]

Next-door neighbours – collaborative working across the London boundary Local government obsesses about boundaries: we think they’re always wrong.  We spend hours, and pounds, looking at options for council reorganisation or Combined Authorities, and rarely agree where lines on maps should be drawn.  We seem intent on imposing our own […]

The Budget and the Industrial Strategy: Why the Central South needs to get back on track The Budget and the Industrial Strategy: Why the Central South needs to get back on track November 22nd’s Budget has been criticised as being timid, and lacking in new ideas. However, it did at […]

Devolution in the South: reboot needed   Simon Eden, SPC Associate, on how the South needs to re-imagine its approach to devolution: November 2017 Devolution across the UK has proceeded in fits and starts.  Some councils and their partners embraced the process early, and came out with devolution deals which […]