The advance of elected mayors continues apace, despite the negative votes in city referendums last week. The London mayoral contest dominated May’s local elections. London’s transport, and much else besides, has been transformed for the better by twelve years of the mayoralty. Polls show more Londoners now favour independence for the capital than the abolition [...]
From yes2mayors.com: My response to remarks made by the departing Leader of Bristol City Council Barbara Janke in her resignation letter: Yet again, Bristol’s unstable city council is undergoing a change of leadership. Barbara Janke’s resignation marks the eighth change of leadership in the city council in 12 years – almost one leader a year. [...]
My suggestion that a reformed House of Lords should be located in a major city in the midlands or the north has stimulated a big debate. Here are some of the contributions: Let’s move the Lords to Manchester From the Spectator’s “Coffee House” blog Andrew Adonis, one of the [...]
Originally published in the Birmingham Post There was a time when Birmingham was undisputedly the nation’s second city. Nowadays a host of other cities are nipping at its heels. Greater Manchester is now by far the most autonomous and powerful city outside London, it also boasts the biggest airport. Leeds is the biggest provincial hub [...]
“Andrew Adonis has a unique record of combining radical ideas on public services with a very pragmatic focus on achieving results. Suzannah Brecknell meets the Institute for Government chief to discuss a year of the coalition… Andrew Adonis likes clarity. He speaks deliberately, ensuring his phrases are clear and well-constructed, as befits a former journalist [...]
An article of mine for Comment is Free Now that the creation of a largely elected House of Lords seems likely, the location of this new parliamentary chamber ought to be a matter for debate. And the case for locating it in one of England’s regional cities should be considered. As a Londoner who delights [...]