Centre for Cities

Andrew Carter, Chief Executive, is joined by Ian Taylor, Associate at the City-Region Economic Development Institute (City-Redi), and Philip McCann, Sir Terry Leahy Chair of Urban and Regional Economics at Alliance Manchester Business School. They discuss their paper 'Lessons learnt from the differing investment strategies and enabling contexts of UK city deals' and the implications surrounding current policy.

Andrew Carter, Chief Executive, is joined by Maurice Lange, Senior Analyst to discuss the different approaches to housing that came out of Labour and Conservative Party Conference as well as diving into the actions that need to be taken by national, local and mayoral government to maximise council housebuilding.

Andrew Carter, Chief Executive, is joined by Laura Shoaf, former Chief Executive of West Midlands Combined Authority, former Managing Director of Transport for West Midlands, and currently a non-executive director at DfT and board member for TfL. They discuss the evolution of the devolution agenda since the start of Laura's career and what's needed for further progress.

Andrew Carter, Chief Executive, is joined by Jess Tulasiewicz, Head of Public Affairs and Policy, and Director of Policy and Research Anthony Breach to recap Labour Party Conference 2026. They discuss our ‘In Conversation’ sessions with the mayors, implications from the leader’s speech and the atmosphere inside the secure zone.

Andrew Carter, Chief Executive, is joined by Mike Emmerich, Founding Director of Metro Dynamics and former Chief Executive of New Economy Manchester, to discuss his forthcoming book, The Knowledge Broker: Sir Howard Bernstein's Manchester and Lessons for National Renewal, due out in March 2027. They also discuss his independent devolution review, Bringing Dynamism into Place, which examines the institutional capability, leadership and partnerships needed to turn devolution into sustainable economic growth across the UK.

Chief Executive Andrew Carter is joined by Director of Policy and Research Anthony Breach to discuss good growth in every postcode, overnight visitor levies, corporation tax and why it should be part of the fiscal devolution debate and the roadmap that we'll see at the October budget.

Chief Executive Andrew Carter is joined by Jess Tulasiewicz, Head of Public Affairs and Policy, and Director of Policy and Research Anthony Breach to recap the many announcements that have come since Andy Burnham became Prime Minister in July. They discuss the significant shift of politicians to Number 10 North, devolution progress, tackling the NEETs challenge and what we expect will be coming next this autumn. 

Chief Executive Andrew Carter is joined by Jasbir Basi, Head of Corporate Affairs at SSE, to discuss cities, net zero, green energy and what's changed in the the two years since we published 'Accelerating net zero delivery: What can UK cities learn from around the world?'.

Chief Executive Andrew Carter is joined by Oscar Selby, Analyst, to discuss The Government’s plans to give councils and communities the ability to tighten permissions needed for vape shops and refuse new betting shops on their high streets. They explore why high streets continue to be an important topic for successive governments and what it actually takes to regenerate a high street.

Director of Policy and Research Ant Breach is joined by Jess Tulasiewicz, Head of Public Affairs and Policy, and Oscar Selby, Analyst, to discuss the big devolution announcements that came last Friday. They discuss the seven-page document published by the Cabinet and breakdown some of the key changes that will be coming down the line and what they mean for people in their places.