In this episode of The Star Chamber Podcast, we unpack the fallout from the recent local elections before tackling the potential moral hazard of central government interventions in local authority debt. We then head north to UKREiiF to explore placemaking, investment, and how these themes tie into the evolving role of Combined Authorities - including a trip through time to Margaret Thatcher’s abolition of the GLC and her clashes with Ken Livingstone (and his infamous banners), a story that foreshadows today’s devolution arrangements. We round things off with a dive into the Tudor origins of business rates. It’s all connected - politics, property, and the persistent tug-of-war over who holds power.