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...
Local Government Reform for the purpose for devolution is upon us. Experience of working in and with mayoral combined and mayoral combined county authorities is providing much useful learning. Here are just some reflections for those now in the throes. An MSA is not...
I’m sitting on a train out of London, for the penultimate time, before I head to New Zealand to become the CEO of Wellington City Council, and the phone pings. It’s a trusted colleague…will you write an article about leadership under pressure before you go…pleassee??...
Achieving the right balance right between optimism, realism and pessimism can seem like one of the key responsibilities of leaders in challenging times. However, for me, it is the philosophy of agathism (ἀγαθός) – the doctrine that we can tend all things to the...