In this episode, Marcus and Michael take a tour through some of the biggest issues shaping local government today. We reflect on the recent ministerial appointments of Steve Reed, Matthew Pennycook and Alison McGovern, and what their arrival at MHCLG might signal for the sector. We also cover the New Towns Taskforce report — its objectives, the principles underpinning it, and the delivery and cost challenges it presents.

We then turn to the enduring productivity puzzle: why productivity in local government matters, its chequered history from Compulsory Competitive Tendering through to Michael Gove’s “productivity plans,” and the difficulties of applying traditional measures to complex, people-focused services.

Finally, we round things off with an exploration of trust ports — the curious, independent harbour authorities that play a surprisingly important role in UK trade.

In Episode 5 of The Star Chamber Podcast, Michael Clifford and Marcus Richards are joined by Amardeep Gill of Trowers & Hamlins to unpack local government’s role in delivering the UK’s net zero ambitions. We explore the statutory context, the fragmented and short-term funding landscape, and the legal and financial complexities councils face in turning plans into projects. International lessons — from Nordic municipal energy networks to German KfW lending — bring fresh perspective to the debate on whether net zero should be treated as a core local responsibility.

We also take stock of the latest news, from the government’s reorganisation plans to Reform’s focus on Local Government pensions.

And, as always, we close with an idiosyncratic dive into local government’s past — from the Saxon origins of council tax used to pay off murderous Vikings, to the peculiarities of how MPs are permitted to resign.

In Episode 4 of The Star Chamber Podcast, we dive deep into the evolving architecture of English localism.

We begin with the new Devolution and Community Engagement Bill, unpacking its implications for devolution and ambition across regions.

We then interrogate the long-awaited Fair Funding Review – asking whether authorities will see it as a momentous milestone, bringing funding certainty and clarity, or as a shift that risks undermining resilience.

Our deep dive this month focuses on fiscal devolution, revisiting the radical recommendations of the Layfield Committee and exploring global models – from land value tax in Germany to local income taxes in the Nordics.

Finally, we turn to Development Corporations – tracing their post-war roots, the blueprint they set for new towns today, and how they manifested the “silken rope.”