Government should replace grants to City Hall with new tax sharing deal, says think-tank Ministers have committed to ensuring City Hall retains some locally-gener https://haringeycommunitypress.co.uk/2026/09/21/government-should-replace-grants-to-city-hall-with-new-tax-sharing-deal-says-think-tank/

Government should replace grants to City Hall with new tax sharing deal, says think-tank

Ministers have committed to ensuring City Hall retains some locally-generated income tax but Centre for Cities wants the government to go further

haringeycommunitypress.co.uk

This genuinely made me laugh out loud today

We're looking for a policy lead at @centreforcities.bsky.social. It's a new role and a very exciting time to join. Brilliant place to work and lots of room to make your mark: www.centreforcities.org/about/career...

Policy Lead - Centre for Cities

Job Title: Policy Lead Reports to: Head of Policy / Chief Executive Start Date: ASAP / Flexible Salary: Up to £45,000 Hybrid working: We are currently

centreforcities.org

A key date in the planner next week: Centre for Cities will be in conversation with Lord O'Neill on Tuesday, asking what needs to be in the white paper on 'rewiring the state', set to come shortly after the Budget. #forwardplanning #devolution www.centreforcities.org/event/jim-on...

In Conversation with Jim O’Neill: What should the white paper on devolution deliver? - Centre for Cities

Join Lord Jim O’Neill in conversation with Centre for Cities’ Andrew Carter to discuss what the forthcoming Devolution and Growth White Paper should deliver for cities and economic growth.

centreforcities.org

Nice coverage by @bruceandy.bsky.social on our @centreforcities.bsky.social report on *how* HMT needs to give away tax powers to England's mayors. www.reuters.com/world/uk/eng...

English regions should be funded by local taxes, not grants, think tank says

England's mayors should be funded from taxes raised in their own regions rather than government grants, with safeguards so poorer areas do not lose out, ​a think tank said on Wednesday as ministers re...

reuters.com

Ant Breach@antbreach.bsky.social · 2w ago

Our new report does the numbers on fiscal devolution. By letting the metro mayors keep around 7% of their local income tax (2% in London) and 2% of their local corporation tax (1% in London), we can replace grants in a growth-positive, cost-neutral way for HMT and the mayors:

Today I learned that the French for "growth" is "croissance" 🥐

Royaume-Uni : inflation à 3,1 %, le budget sous forte pression

L’inflation britannique atteint 3,1 %. Le gouvernement prépare son budget du 28 octobre dans un contexte de dette et de taux élevés.

lerevenu.com

Our new report does the numbers on fiscal devolution. By letting the metro mayors keep around 7% of their local income tax (2% in London) and 2% of their local corporation tax (1% in London), we can replace grants in a growth-positive, cost-neutral way for HMT and the mayors:

Centre for Cities@centreforcities.bsky.social · 2w ago

NEW | Fiscal devolution can give mayors stronger incentives to grow their economies without leaving places with smaller tax bases behind. Our new briefing sets out a revenue-neutral route to deliver £21.5bn of devolved taxes between now and 2030 👇 buff.ly/m6Ddr8S

What people think will happen if we remove street parking and pedestrianise a street

Party Rock Anthem Dance

ALT: Party Rock Anthem Dance

static.klipy.com

Cool Bike Art@coolbikeart1.bsky.social · 2w ago

What people think will happen if we remove street parking and pedestrianize a street

A 2023 study showed the Midlands accounted for 15% of employment but just 13% of GVA in the UK. This is largely an urban productivity underperformance problem in Birmingham + Nottingham. Government needs to make clear that devolution can and will solve it. www.centreforcities.org/publication/...

All cylinders: The role of the Midlands Engine in the British economy - Centre for Cities

Urban economies essential for driving growth in the Midlands Engine are underperforming, and low productivity is to blame.

centreforcities.org

Stephen Bush@stephenkb.bsky.social · 2w ago

Excellent by @jenwilliamsft.bsky.social on Andy Burnham's Midlands blindness:

Tourist taxes are a pro-growth policy. Read @andrewcities.bsky.social in The Times 📍 www.thetimes.com/article/c99c...

Tourist taxes can boost economic growth across the UK

Visitor levies would be a first step towards devolving taxes and rewarding local authorities for being ambitious

thetimes.com

New piece for On London about fiscal devolution - big thing with Our Andy - and @centreforcities.bsky.social suggestion that Corporation Tax should be added to the programme: www.onlondon.co.uk/should-londo... @theifs.bsky.social @instituteforgovernment.org.uk @london.gov.uk

Should London's Mayors retain a share of Corporation Tax too?

A leading think tank believes it would be a good thing for all mayoral areas, strengthening the government's fiscal devolution plans

onlondon.co.uk

Earlier this week, Channel 4 News asked the Chancellor whether he would consider devolving a share of corporation tax to mayors in addition to income tax and business rates. Centre for Cities sets out the compelling case for it: www.centreforcities.org/publication/...

Fiscal devolution: The case for corporation tax - Centre for Cities

Corporation tax can and should be part of the Government’s fiscal devolution agenda.

centreforcities.org

FT says: drivers of growth are urban areas. "Good growth in every postcode" is better confined to a slogan - it shouldn't be a target. www.ft.com/content/f13d...

Growth in every postcode: good politics, dubious economics

The UK government would be better off backing clusters and widening access to opportunity

ft.com

A little less consultation, a little more action please 🕺🪩🎵 www.gov.uk/government/p...

The Simplification and Agency of Government - Letter to all ministers

gov.uk

Centre for Cities subscribers on Substack really are a privileged bunch. They get access to the chart of the week - new, exclusive analysis, every Tuesday, setting out the geography of issues at the top of Government's agenda. Access this for free now🖱️ centreforcities.substack.com?r=z2639&utm_...

Centre for Cities | Substack

We are a think tank, dedicated to improving the economies of the UK's largest cities and towns. Click to read Centre for Cities, a Substack publication with hundreds of subscribers.

centreforcities.substack.com

This morning, the Chancellor described "growth in every postcode" as "not just a slogan, but a test that we have set ourselves". But taken literally, growth in every postcode is the wrong test.

To get up to speed on the mechanism by which fiscal devolution improves growth, here is one of the key briefings from Centre for Cities 👇 www.centreforcities.org/publication/...

Fiscal devolution for England - Centre for Cities

This briefing provides evidence to support the Government’s decision to advance fiscal devolution and explains how it can use these reforms to achieve both higher growth and greater fairness across th...

centreforcities.org

Who should Cambridge University appoint next to teach philosophy and ethics?

Peter Jukes@peterjukes.bsky.social · 3w ago

Just a reminder, Professor James Orr, Reform UK head of policy, teaches 'ethics' to undergraduates at Cambridge University youtu.be/aXut3s90rUI

Some might say the Cambridge Divinity Faculty is simply giving a platform to alternative views on ethics

Peter Jukes@peterjukes.bsky.social · 3w ago

Just a reminder, Professor James Orr, Reform UK head of policy, teaches 'ethics' to undergraduates at Cambridge University youtu.be/aXut3s90rUI

The Hans Monderman stuff - getting rid of curbs, signs and furniture so road users are more aware of others - applies to a tiny minority of places in NL (like Den Haag Centrum). Meanwhile most of 🇳🇱 relies on excellent segregated bike lanes and roads where bikes have priority - a deterrence to cars.

The Guardian@theguardian.com · last mo.

I’ll admit it: I’ve cycled through red lights. But Britain’s traffic laws are to blame, not me | Simon Jenkins

Government very rapidly following up on its 'Rewiring the State' commitments to "necessary capability to deliver on" devolved powers at local level. Here's a recent @centreforcities.bsky.social blog on why that matters 👇 www.centreforcities.org/blog/devolut...

Devolution’s missing layer – why mayors need the capacity to deliver - Centre for Cities

Devolution is finally happening at pace. Without delivery machinery beneath the new mayors, it will fail. But there is a solution.

centreforcities.org

Andrew Carter@andrewcities.bsky.social · last mo.

www.gov.uk/government/n...

www.gov.uk/government/n...

Whitehall officials to be posted into mayors' offices as PM marks first month of No10 North

Government departments to second officials into mayoral authorities, working with the mayor, in the largest transfer of Whitehall capacity to local leaders yet

gov.uk

🛝 Healthier children 🐦‍⬛ More birdsong 🚴 Feels better after exercise 🌳 Best city in the world

Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan@london.gov.uk · last mo.

This stopped me in my tracks. An independent study by @qmul.bsky.social has found that after ULEZ was introduced, children’s lungs grew faster in Central London and have now caught up with children outside of the capital. Incredible.

From this review- “Think of all the diligent, decent black academics who have been lumbered with the embarrassment of having Arday as a figurehead” - no, think of *why* black academics are held collectively responsible in ways that white academics are not

Stephen Bush@stephenkb.bsky.social · last mo.

I think functionally all of the post-resignation coverage that was about him rather than Cambridge was excessive (e.g. this poisonous review of a book nobody is going to buy - why)

Marc Isaacs' film 'Outsiders' from 2012 is good on this. It's shot from a stationary burger truck in Lincolnshire and he gets passers-by to give their opinion on immigration. www.youtube.com/watch?v=kD93...

Sam Freedman@samfr.bsky.social · 2mo ago

Has anyone read anything good on why the east coast is such fertile ground for the extreme right? (Lincolnshire, East Anglia, the Essex and Kent coasts) Demographics aren't wildly different to other areas where it's much less pronounced.

“We need an Ozempic for cars. They are growing at a phenomenal rate, wreaking havoc on roads, squeezing out smaller vehicles and endangering pedestrians. Like ever-hungry teenagers, cars in Europe are growing on average a centimetre wider every year.” Don’t repeat North America’s mistake, Europe.

Britain’s cars and SUVs are growing bigger – but there is a way to stop this deadly ‘carspreading’ | Christian Wolmar

Larger vehicles crowd our roads and are far more dangerous to pedestrians. Let’s curb them before they do even more damage, says says transport commentator Christian Wolmar

theguardian.com

A thread on why this morning's devolution announcements really do amount to 'rewiring the state' and what it will achieve

Oscar Selby@oscarselby.bsky.social · 2mo ago

The Prime Minister plans to 'rewire the state' and give more power to councils and mayors, who are better placed to deliver locally catered economic policy. Income tax sharing to mayors will be key to this. The UK is the most fiscally centralised country in the G7, holding back wages and growth.

Today’s set of announcements amount to the most significant rebalancing of power from Whitehall to local areas in a generation. www.centreforcities.org/press/centre...

Centre for Cities welcomes "unashamedly pro-growth" income tax sharing for mayors - Centre for Cities

"The devolution announcement today marks a new era for the British economy."

centreforcities.org

Important piece by @antbreach.bsky.social this -stamp duty is bad, we should replace it. Council tax could work better - but for god's sake don't centralise it:

Centralising council tax would make Burnham’s job more difficult - Centre for Cities

Proposals for replacing council tax are common and it should be reformed, but it shouldn’t be centralised.

centreforcities.org

The same Reuters report that James Marriott points to here for evidence people are 'switching off' from news pinpointed a big part of that switchoff to 2019, Brexit and "meaningful votes". AI slop and influencer dross is probably more edifying than some politics tbf www.thetimes.com/comment/colu...

Public are finally tiring of the No 10 Show

No great drama can continue indefinitely and in our politics-as-entertainment culture, we may be reaching series fatigue

thetimes.com