Blog

The Heseltine Institute blog provides a space for policymakers, practitioners and academics to share their aspirations, knowledge and policy ideas across a range of topics to influence and inform public policies for tomorrow's cities and city regions.

Blogs from our archive can be accessed here.

 

The 2023 Party Conferences: long-term decisions for next year’s electionThe 2023 Party Conferences: long-term decisions for next year’s election

The 2023 Party Conferences: long-term decisions for next year’s election

With both the Conservative and Labour party conferences visiting the North West over recent weeks, Heseltine Institute Research Associate Dr James Hickson considers what the key announcements from both parties suggest about the state of play ahead of the next general election.

Posted on: 17 October 2023

The case for social broadbandThe case for social broadband

The case for social broadband

By providing social broadband through cheaper tariffs, so the argument goes, we can overcome the vagaries of digital exclusion and poverty.

Posted on: 26 September 2023

The Power of Plans - in Shenzhen, Dublin and New YorkThe Power of Plans - in Shenzhen, Dublin and New York

The Power of Plans - in Shenzhen, Dublin and New York

In three unmissable podcasts with international guests, Profs. Lucy Natarajan at UCL and Ian Wray at the Heseltine Institute explore what makes for a powerful plan.

Posted on: 15 August 2023

Do We Need a Plan for England?Do We Need a Plan for England?

Do We Need a Plan for England?

Back in the 2000s an enthusiastic Regional Development Agency chair went to visit his responsible Minister and asked if we could have a national spatial plan. The response was telling: ‘Oh, we don’t want one of those. Everybody would be able to see what we were doing’. Recently an eminent transport planner made a similarly downbeat point: ‘We are so far adrift on coherent strategic thinking (our strategy is to make it up as you go along) that a spatial plan looks like a fantasy. Maybe it’s something we could get to, after development of a set of coordinated measures’.

Posted on: 21 June 2023

Revealing the political foundations of the UK’s COVID-19 crisisRevealing the political foundations of the UK’s COVID-19 crisis

Revealing the political foundations of the UK’s COVID-19 crisis

To celebrate the launch of COVID-19 and the Case Against Neoliberalism: The United Kingdom’s Political Pandemic, co-author James Hickson provides an overview of the book’s central arguments and its implications for post-pandemic policymaking.

Posted on: 4 May 2023

Unleashing imaginative power in the Liverpool City RegionUnleashing imaginative power in the Liverpool City Region

Unleashing imaginative power in the Liverpool City Region

In the second of a two-part blog, Heseltine Institute Visiting Fellow Mark Swift discusses how policymakers can work with communities to harness imagination. Highlighting a range of positive examples from Liverpool City Region, the blog also identifies a variety of strategies designed to promote imaginative policymaking.

Posted on: 20 January 2023

Unleashing our imagination for political and social change in the Liverpool City RegionUnleashing our imagination for political and social change in the Liverpool City Region

Unleashing our imagination for political and social change in the Liverpool City Region

In the first of a two-part blog, Heseltine Institute Visiting Fellow Mark Swift discusses the use of imagination in policymaking. Citing a range of examples of creative thinking in the public and third sectors, Mark highlights a range of methodologies designed to harness our collective imagination.

Posted on: 18 January 2023

Liverpool City Region’s Freeport is now open, but what exactly is it? Liverpool City Region’s Freeport is now open, but what exactly is it?

Liverpool City Region’s Freeport is now open, but what exactly is it?

Liverpool City Region’s (LCR) new freeport has received sign-off from the government, following approval of its full business case earlier this week.

Posted on: 12 January 2023

Place-based employment support conference co-hosted by the Heseltine Institute, University of Liverpool and City-REDI/WMREDI, University of BirminghamPlace-based employment support conference co-hosted by the Heseltine Institute, University of Liverpool and City-REDI/WMREDI, University of Birmingham

Place-based employment support conference co-hosted by the Heseltine Institute, University of Liverpool and City-REDI/WMREDI, University of Birmingham

On Thursday 16th June the Heseltine Institute at the University of Liverpool and City-REDI/WMREDI at the University of Birmingham are co-hosting an event in Liverpool on the theme of Employment Support and Future Skills: Benefits of a Place-Based Approach.

Posted on: 16 June 2022

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