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Our congratulations, from all at Thorncliffe, to Mark Allison, who becomes the new leader of Merton. Mark is a friend of Thorncliffe, having worked as a colleague with us for five years. Mark has been a councillor for nearly 20 years, ten years as cabinet member for finance, and deputy leader for seven years. He… Continue reading Allison takes over in Merton

Announcing the White Paper is the easy bit. Developers should not count their chickens on this reform just yet, as there may be a significant backlash from Conservative councillors. Reforming the planning and housing system in England is never easy. The proposals in this week’s White Paper could quite possibly go the same way as… Continue reading Planning for a fight

Thorncliffe | Your Shout are pleased to announce approval for their own code of conduct from the Office of the Registrar of Consultant Lobbyists (ORCL), an independent statutory office holder that receives funding via a sponsor government department.  From 1 July, only companies with an ORCL-approved code, either an individual code or one through a… Continue reading Thorncliffe announce full independent approval for its code

Do you have a right to lobby councillors sitting on a planning committee? It happens all the time, but is it a legal right and something which the authorities cannot stop?  The answer from today is yes. That question has not previously come up as a legal issue, but it did so last week in a… Continue reading Councillors can be lobbied, says Mr Justice Dove

“I broke the rules and went for a pee”. We have been speaking with councillors about virtual committees. Here are five takeaways: “The first vote counts”.At old fashioned analogue committees, eyes of members frequently fall on one or two influential councillors when it’s time to vote. Many other members follow their example. That’s harder now.… Continue reading Some thoughts from councillors on virtual committees.

Steve Reed is the new Shadow Communities and Local Government Secretary in Keir Starmer’s shadow cabinet, and shows that Starmer intends to take local government seriously. Reed was leader of Lambeth borough council for six years and sorted out the infamously poorly run council administration, leading a thoroughly pro-development authority.  Reed is from St Albans and studied English at… Continue reading New Shadow for MHCLG