institutional relations between the English regions and Whitehall in the post-1997 era were found to rely heavily on ad hoc forms of contact. The regions in England are still viewed as a ‘burden’ and a network form of governance has not yet replaced the Westminster model. That last paragraph sums up Common Purpose.   more »

Iain Dale is running with a story which few quite understand. He says: It seems to be completely mad that ITV wish to but their regions from 12 to 9. ITV Meridian plans to axe the programme which serves the South East and replace it with one which covers an area from Southend to Weymouth, and up to Swindon. At a time when the internet means that localised services are expanding all the time, ITV is moving to centralise their news operations. Perhaps the day of local TV news really is over.   more »