Will the wings of local authorities be clipped following the publication of a highly critical National Audit Office (NAO) report on councils' acquisition of commercial property? And what will this mean for local authority trading companies and council's still struggling to bridge the gap in their budgets?
Whatever people's views are on the Brexit debate- leavers and remainers, everybody I've talked to is agreed on one thing - the manoeuvrings in Parliament, stoked up over the last month by the media and an intransigent EU has left everybody with an increasing distrust of political motives. Which is a real shame - I have known committed politicians from all parties who have worked hard for their own communities - for little or no reward.
This article is not about Brexit per se, but the impact of political behaviour.
I am resisting talking about Brexit as a lot more needs to play out but want to take everyone back to the earlier announcement about the Government's Clean Air Strategy at the beginning of the week. This is something close to my heart.
Just before Christmas I passed by the removal of the toll booths of the Severn Bridge and it was a 48-hour media sensation. I think the true scale of these changes will not become clear for at least 6 months.
Where do I start? First an uninspiring England draw to Croatia and then we taught Spain a footballing lesson in Seville. Ups and downs.
I’ve been watching the film Steven Spielberg’s 2002 film, Minority Report recently and have been struck how many things from driverless cars to drones are coming true. The film using pre-cogs to predict future crime and takes action before it happens. Is there a parallel with the emergence of algorithms and Artificial Intelligence?
The soft drinks giant Coca-Cola has linked up with Merlin Entertainments by rewarding users who deposit their plastic bottles into so-called reverse vending machines with half price tickets for some of the UK’s most popular tourist attractions- such as Alton Towers, Thorpe Park, Chessington World of adventures. Their research suggests that two thirds of Britons would recycle more if they were rewarded immediately for their actions.
We are at a crossroads. On one hand austerity continues to bite very deeply. Cash strapped Northamptonshire is resigned to being split into two “unitary authorities”. Nor is Northants alone. East Sussex says it is down to the basics and Barnet and Cornwall cannot be far behind. Although nationally employment is at its highest with only 1 in 25 Britons now unemployed - the lowest for the last 25 years, wages have stagnated. Unemployment ruins lives and leads to increasing numbers of people with worrying levels of debt and further pressure on local councils to act.