Local government
The Guardian view on Covid failures: PM eroded trust when he needed it most | Editorial
October 12, 2020Boris Johnson’s decision to give English local councils and metro mayors a role in suppressing the spread of coronavirus is a small step in the right direction. Mr Johnson has been outpaced by the virus for months while touting plans to defeat the disease. None have worked, which is why he is having to ask […]
Read More
Home Office moved Covid-affected asylum seekers against orders
October 2, 2020The Home Office moved dozens of asylum seekers involved in a Covid outbreak more than 120 miles despite an enforcement order saying they should remain in self-isolation for 14 days, the Guardian has learned. Home Office contractors have been accused of being “beyond reckless” in their handling of the initial outbreak. Among those who were […]
Read More
London faces bleak future without £5bn cash boost, says Sadiq Khan
September 28, 2020Khan said TfL had played ‘a vital role throughout the pandemic’ but had been hit hard by people staying home. Photograph: Stefan Rousseau/PA Sadiq Khan has warned that the capital faces a bleak future of crumbling infrastructure and a return to the “bad old days” of unreliable tube and bus services unless the government steps […]
Read More
Recycling rates lower in England’s poorest areas
August 31, 2020Birmingham and Liverpool among local authorities with lowest rates, analysis shows A bag of recycling. In Newham, east London, just 16% of household waste is sent for reuse, recycling or composting, the lowest rate in England. Photograph: Richard Baker/Corbis/Getty Images Recycling rates for household waste are significantly lower in the most deprived areas of England, […]
Read More
‘I have suffered all my life’: survivors tell of abuse at Shirley Oaks children’s home
June 25, 2020Shayne Donnelly as a child. He was a ‘lifer’ at Shirley Oaks, living there from the age of one in 1968 until its closure in 1983. Several members of the Donnelly family spent time in the Shirley Oaks children’s home in Croydon, where people have described suffering sexual, physical and racial abuse. Here, four of […]
Read More
Labour councils in England hit harder by austerity than Tory areas
June 21, 2020Labour councils have borne the brunt of local government cuts over a decade of austerity, according to an analysis by the Guardian. It highlights for the first time the extent to which poorer, largely Labour-held areas of England had their funding slashed on average by at least a third, while more affluent, largely Conservative areas […]
Read More
Labour quizzes PM on planning decision that saved Tory donor £40m
June 17, 2020Boris Johnson asked to disclose any contact with donor Richard Desmond prior to housing minister overruling council The Westferry Printworks site in east London. The scheme was approved by the housing secretary, Robert Jenrick, against the advice of a planning inspector, but the decision was reversed after Tower Hamlets council took legal action. Photograph: Yui […]
Read More
Call for inquiry into why senior Tory helped donor avoid £40m tax
May 30, 2020Cabinet Office asked to look into Robert Jenrick’s unlawful approval of property project The proposed development in east London, which was approved by Robert Jenrick against the advice of his planning inspector. Photograph: PR Labour has urged the Cabinet Office to investigate why the housing secretary intervened in a controversial London planning decision that could […]
Read More