Joe needs his toe nails cut. Last week his General Practice doctor who I know well, wrote to me, incensed by the impossibility of organising this simple task. The regional assistant head of community commissioning – let’s call them Jamie, so as not to shame them, responded to her...
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The Radical Way_shifting the social paradigm
What is the new relationship required between the state and our communities? So often the two seem locked in a zero-sum game, a competition, in which the fate and popularity of one rises as the other falls? But could we instead re-imagine the relationship between the local state and...
Hasty Notes
I spent last week working in East Ayrshire. It was inspiring. What is happening in East Ayrshire, often against some pretty difficult odds, is something most places in Britain could learn from. Here I share some rough and ready thoughts from my notebook. All you need is love? A...
Who are the New Industrialists? (and why they matter)
At the World Economic Forum in Davos last week, climate was at the top of the agenda – but close behind (and often discussed in equally apocalyptic tones) was the theme of work. This year I am also focused on work (and its intimate connections to the climate challenge). ...
A Community Power Act?

This week Adam Lent started an important conversation at the New Local Government Network, about how we enable a system shift away from a highly centralised mode of government to one which is community driven. He writes; ‘Currently it takes a rare combination of courage, persistence and vision on...