In our festive edition of the Star Chamber Podcast, Michael and Marcus explore the Chancellor’s Budget, considering whether it maintains the spirit of devolution, or whether it delivers something more centralistic.

We then take to time to reflect on the year of 2025 for the local government sector – a year in which councils have faced extraordinary pressures, profound uncertainty and yet remarkable resilience. From SEND, LGR and EFS to new ministers, new towns and new financial realities, we reflect on the defining themes that shaped the sector.

And we indulge in a Christmas set of idiosyncrasies, from grand mayoral dinners, municipal Christmas trees and Christmas lights, and conclude with a Christmas ghost story which answers the curious question – why doesn’t the Leeds Town Hall clock chime at midnight?

In this episode of The Star Chamber Podcast, Marcus and Michael are joined by Owen Mapley, Chief Executive of CIPFA, to explore one of the defining questions facing local government today: how do we shift from short-term firefighting to long-term financial sustainability?

We begin with the latest sector headlines — from the latest analysis on Exceptional Financial Support and implications of the delay to SEND reform, to expectations ahead of the upcoming Budget. With limited fiscal headroom and rising pressures in areas such as social care and homelessness, we consider what the Budget may mean for local authorities and the wider reform agenda.

Our deep dive looks at the structural challenges shaping local government finance – the implications of constant firefighting and how authorities are responding to move towards longer term financial sustainability. Owen shares insights on the role of CIPFA’s standards and frameworks in supporting that shift, and the aspects of what a reformed, sustainable funding model could look like in practice.

Finally, our idiosyncrasy takes us back to the People’s Budget of 1909 — a moment when fiscal policy became a moral battle over the future of the welfare state. With Churchill declaring it a “war Budget” against poverty and squalor, we explore how the tensions of that era, reform vs tradition, redistribution vs restraint, still echo today.

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.