Now should be the time to reflect, learn and proceed with insight and refreshed practices if the new strategic authorities and the ingenuity of their leaders are to get off to a solid start, writes Max Wide. It has been 14 years since the first strategic authority was...
We recently brought together a Community of Practice on Place - a collective of leaders working in local systems, exploring what it means to lead for place when place itself is changing shape. Not simply a geographic label, place was understood as emotional,...
It’s a pretty punishing time, some might say ‘impossible’ moment to be a leader in local government. As the demands on public services intensify — with rising inequality, fractured social trust, and complex place-based challenges — the resources to meet them continue...
As the conversation around devolution and local government reform sharpens, the tension between centralisation and meaningful local autonomy is more palpable than ever. Councils across the country are navigating expansion, mergers, and restructuring - all while...
On 18 June 2025, we welcomed friends, partners and collaborators to the BT Tower in London to mark a significant milestone: 21 years of the Leadership Centre. Over two decades, we've had the privilege of working alongside leaders across public services, local...
Writing for the Leadership Centre are devolution experts (pictured left to right) Cllr Ruth Dombey OBE, Toby Savage and Elise Wilson. Ruth is the former Liberal Democrat Leader of Sutton Borough Council and a member of the Committee on Standards in Public Life. Toby...
The Leadership Centre’s flagship programme, Future Vision, has long stood as a beacon for senior leaders navigating the complexities of public service. Since its inception in 2012, the programme has continually adapted to meet the dynamic challenges faced by leaders...
The recent local elections have brought about a notable shift in the political composition and, in a good number of cases, leadership of councils across the UK. Reform UK has moved from holding no councils to gaining control of ten and becoming the largest party in...
When pressure rises, so does the need for courageous, connected and collective leadership. In today’s volatile, fast-moving world, health and care leaders are facing unrelenting pressure, from workforce shortages and soaring demand to chronic underfunding and...
At the Leadership Centre, we have been seeing for some time now that extreme financial pressures for the sector has created negative effects. These effects vary from council to council, but there are some common threads – the retreat into silos, the gaps between...