The absolute bloody vandalism of austerity in one chart. Good analysis of the overall picture here.

Designing Strategic Authorities: culture, capability and a compelling Story - New Local Mayoral Combined Authorities (MCAs) have never truly been designed; they’ve evolved. Greater Manchester — the starter culture for all MCAs — looked like a reasonably recognisable set of shared…

As we rethink and reimagine how local government is shaped for future generations, @steve1skelton.bsky.social looks at the evolution of strategic authorities.

buff.ly/PSFIRAa

#EnglishDevolutionBill

Lovely to share thoughts with our friends @wearenewlocal.bsky.social

As ever with QF this is practice driven insight that works in the real world.

If you're developing an MCA, trying to make one work or want to drive your established authority even further, get in touch www.questionfactory.co.uk

China launches world’s first grid-forming sodium-ion battery storage plant The Baochi Storage Station in Yunnan integrates lithium and sodium-ion technologies at scale, a global first, aiming to stabilize renewable energy and cut costs as China accelerates its energy transit...

Sodium-iron batteries at grid scale: 200MW/400MWh, enough to "regulate up to 580 GWh annually."

"The facility supports more than 30 local wind and solar power stations, alleviating the impact of intermittent supply and facilitating the integration of high shares of renewables into the grid."
😍

Oh wow - I'd never put those two things together. Can't believe that gig was on the loop 🤩

Boys in the Hudd

Steve Skelton on LinkedIn: 10 Year Infrastructure Strategy Working Paper An important HMT working paper here, setting out thinking on how the 10 year Infrastructure Strategy, which is due out alongside the CSR in June, might…

Some thoughts on the 10 year Infrastructure Strategy being developed alongside the CSR.

Includes the role MCAs could play to develop pipelines of social and public service infrastructure investments, and maybe even hold #totalplace style capital budgets.

www.linkedin.com/posts/steve-...

Description of the election process for the (admittedly Venetian) Doge. Apologies, can't recall where I found the quote.

Seems to be some genuine interest in DOGE from UK public service reform types.

I can see no chance of genuine efficiencies coming from any organisation that runs its internal governance in this way.

Anyone else had this?

Wierd bot account reposted all my posts.

When I click on the handle its a clone of my account?

Very odd...

We are #Notwestminster For everyone who has something positive to say about local democracy & anyone who is up for the challenge of making it better

Lovely to be introduced to @72prufrocks.bsky.social and to talk about ideas for #notwestminster discussion sessions.

Planning to get deep into the question of how we reduce the barriers to participatory policy making, and how we take it mainstream.

notinwestminster.wordpress.com

Steve Skelton on LinkedIn: The shape and size of Mayoral Combined Authorities has always varied over… The shape and size of Mayoral Combined Authorities has always varied over time in different places. it's one of the things that makes the design of CAs such an…

Today's #devo WP heralds a new leadership craft that can weave together the previously distinct cultures and practices of:

☆ Govt Departments
☆ Local Government
☆ RDAs, and
☆ Government Offices

More here 👇

www.linkedin.com/posts/steve-...

Some lovely Qs here.

The place leadership/LG finance/regional growth one is a bit of a Frankenstein though...

My favourites -

How can public bodies learn from systemic policy challenges? (7.17)

How best to utilise futures techniques? (7.16)

Where has citizen engagement worked well? (7.20)

🤓

Friend of mine worked on this. Been waiting for it to be broadcast since I read your post.

Panorama, The Truth about Smart Meters: www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m0024yyc via @bbciplayer

This mission of model of saving the NHS should be #totalplace on steroids, and the English Devo Bill really needs to do something to shift the dial here.

I think this is where proper join up with #localgov can bring so much value - mobilising civic action, tackling the wider determinants but also, crucially, bringing local democratic accountability for experimentation.

Surely Bluesky is *all about* the niche

Strong agree.

The answer is to invest in the democratic centre that can amplify citizen voice, and has the legitimacy to challenge silo professions.

Otherwise it's just a bunch of managers in a room guarding their version of the truth.

I like this idea. I've thought the same about noting team meetings and I also thought it should be built once by practitioners and shared. Feels like that's the only way it would actually *work*.

🙏

Devolution and the Radical How Stockport Town Hall

Absolutely agree, and interesting reflections on the devolved nations, which I know much less about.

Some of this potential is what I was getting at with this piece on CAs and building agility into policy making -

medium.com/@QuestionFy/...

Absolutely - I've worked both sides of that fence myself so would be really interested in your reflections.

Re-posting for recent-influx followers.

Some thoughts on what it means as the design impetus for combined authorities shifts from local to central government.

Yeah. I wonder if we might see other forms of strategic governance emerge to meet different challenges in those places.

If I were a county I'd be interested in whether a MCA could give me some purchase on my ICS to turn it into a more directly accountable LPSB type thing.

Agreed. Also really interesting to see how the policy of universal coverage of strategic planning collides with the policy of filling in the devo map.

Pretty sure there will have to be a few non-consensual unions, and maybe even a conscious uncoupling or two.

Writing the future of combined authorities Combined Authorities were designed by councils to make sense of national govt. Now national govt is using them to make sense of councils.

Consensus on the value of mayoral devolution heralds a 2nd age of Combined Authorities

An innovation designed by councils to make sense of national govt...

...is increasingly being used by national govt to make sense of councils

Some thoughts on what this means here -

medium.com/@QuestionFy/...

Trump grumpily clutching the podium while Elon leaps happily behind

Nelson grumpily walking a Springfield sidewalk while Martin leaps happily behind him

"We can't deliver growth if we don't reform public services"

That's what you get when you have a ministerial team from Oldham and Tameside.

👊

Cambs massive

Yeah - big fan of this work. Was lucky enough to share a stage Jess and John at Stronger Things earlier this year, talking about where the work could go next. Reminds me I have a half finished blog on devolved public service systems that I need to finish...

The Santiago Boys Podcast · [object Object] · The Santiago Boys is a nine-part podcast about a group of radical utopians around Salvador Allende, Chile's socialist president. Undeterred by the Cold War and machinations...

Have you enjoyed Santiago Boys yet?

open.spotify.com/show/7xlRxno...