In Episode 5 of The Star Chamber Podcast, Michael Clifford and Marcus Richards are joined by Amardeep Gill of Trowers & Hamlins to unpack local government’s role in delivering the UK’s net zero ambitions. We explore the statutory context, the fragmented and short-term funding landscape, and the legal and financial complexities councils face in turning plans into projects. International lessons — from Nordic municipal energy networks to German KfW lending — bring fresh perspective to the debate on whether net zero should be treated as a core local responsibility.

We also take stock of the latest news, from the government’s reorganisation plans to Reform’s focus on Local Government pensions.

And, as always, we close with an idiosyncratic dive into local government’s past — from the Saxon origins of council tax used to pay off murderous Vikings, to the peculiarities of how MPs are permitted to resign.

In Episode 4 of The Star Chamber Podcast, we dive deep into the evolving architecture of English localism.

We begin with the new Devolution and Community Engagement Bill, unpacking its implications for devolution and ambition across regions.

We then interrogate the long-awaited Fair Funding Review – asking whether authorities will see it as a momentous milestone, bringing funding certainty and clarity, or as a shift that risks undermining resilience.

Our deep dive this month focuses on fiscal devolution, revisiting the radical recommendations of the Layfield Committee and exploring global models – from land value tax in Germany to local income taxes in the Nordics.

Finally, we turn to Development Corporations – tracing their post-war roots, the blueprint they set for new towns today, and how they manifested the “silken rope.”

In this episode of The Star Chamber Podcast, we unpack the recent flurry of government announcements – the Spending Review, the Industrial Strategy, and the UK Infrastructure Strategy – and explore what they really mean for local government.

We discuss how authorities can respond to these evolving agendas to unlock investment, attract private capital, and drive long-term, place-based growth.

We’re also joined by our first guest, Peter Arnold, EY’s Chief Economist, who shares his insights on the economic forces shaping national policy and local opportunity.

And, in true Star Chamber fashion, we close with a historical turn – tracing how the French Revolution, Earl Grey, and the Great Reform Act helped shape the foundations of the local government system we know today.