LED Confidential

LED Confidential

Podcast about local economic development and placemaking. Co-hosted by Mike Spicer of PolicyDepartment and David Marlow of Third Life Economics. Mike, David and guests address the divisive, often unspoken issues facing economic development professionals in 2020s Britain. Website: www.ledconfidential.co.uk

  1. Tooling up the profession: what local economic development practitioners need now

    há 7 h

    Tooling up the profession: what local economic development practitioners need now

    In this episode, David and Mike are joined by Dr Glenn Athey to discuss the state of professional practice in local and regional economic development. Using Glenn’s new handbook as a springboard, they explore why delivery capability has become such a binding constraint on place based change, how years of austerity and institutional churn have hollowed out professional capacity, and what today’s practitioners need in order to do the job well. From evidence and judgment to curiosity, stakeholder engagement and getting out from behind the screen, this is a practical conversation about how to build stronger individual and organisational capability for the work ahead. Access the handbook: https://lredhandbook.com/

    42 min
  2. Two‑speed devolution? What the Devolution and Community Empowerment Act really means for places

    4 de jun.

    Two‑speed devolution? What the Devolution and Community Empowerment Act really means for places

    With the Devolution and Community Empowerment Act now on the statute book, England’s devolution journey feels more settled but perhaps more uneven. In this episode, David and Mike ask whether the new three‑tier system of strategic authorities accelerates progress or risks locking large parts of the country into a holding pattern. They explore Foundation Combined Authorities, Integrated Settlements, the under‑examined community empowerment strand of the Act, and what LED professionals can do in places still waiting for powers that may never arrive.

    10 min
  3. 2026 local election results: democratic noise or delivery risk?

    28 de mai.

    2026 local election results: democratic noise or delivery risk?

    In this Espresso Shot episode, David and Mike  unpack what business and institutional investors may be reading into the 2026 local election results in England at a moment when confidence, continuity and delivery matter more than ever. They explore whether governance instability is being treated as background democratic noise or as genuine execution risk, how this compares with the importance of traditional project fundamentals, and what LED and placemaking professionals can do to signal continuity through anchor institutions, clear pipelines and credible communication.

    10 min
  4. AI and the geography of opportunity: will it widen regional divides — and what should places do about it?

    7 de mai.

    AI and the geography of opportunity: will it widen regional divides — and what should places do about it?

    This is the second in LEDC’s short run of episodes on AI — focusing on the economic impacts on places and what that means for local skills and growth plans. Drawing on live work on local skills planning,  David and Mike reflect on how uncertain employers remain about how it will impact their recruitment decisions. They explore the spatial dimension: AI may be transformational for places with dense “intelligence functions”, while a small number may host major data / energy infrastructure. But what about the rest? They cover the practical AI adoption strategies for non‑obvious AI “winners” and what’s already visible in local labour markets.

    12 min
  5. Building the plane while flying it: East Midlands Mayor Claire Ward on making devolution deliver

    30 de abr.

    Building the plane while flying it: East Midlands Mayor Claire Ward on making devolution deliver

    In this episode, David and Mike are joined by Claire Ward, the first Mayor of the East Midlands Combined County Authority, to explore what it really takes to lead a new devolved English region through its first term. She reflects on how newer Combined Authorities differ from the earlier Greater Manchester / West Midlands experience, and building institutions at pace across four constituent authorities as powers, structures and expectations accelerate. They cover how to create a region‑wide narrative and shared priorities, what first‑term success looks like in tangible delivery terms,and why issues like integrated settlements, visitor levies, and broader fiscal devolution matter for shifting to a more flexible, locally‑shaped resource envelope. Mayor Claire discusses the importance of coterminous responsibilities across public services (and the practical challenges when footprints don’t align), collaborations with other mayors, and why better local data is essential if devolution is to drive genuinely place‑specific policy and delivery.

    43 min
  6. Has fiscal devolution finally gone mainstream in UK government?

    23 de abr.

    Has fiscal devolution finally gone mainstream in UK government?

    The UK's Chancellor of the Exchequer put fiscal devolution firmly on the table with her 2026 Mais Lecture, including a road map for sharing national tax revenues with English regions. Does this foreshadow a permanent shift of power, or the familiar business rate retention model in new clothing?  A model of retaining growth in tax yields without clarity on which public service responsibilities move alongside? Most importantly: what evidence and options should practitioners be assembling to feed into the Autumn Budget, including the role of inclusive growth and the risk of widening divides between mayoral strategic authorities and everywhere else?

    13 min
  7. Local Government Reorganisation and the capacity crunch

    16 de abr.

    Local Government Reorganisation and the capacity crunch

    In this Espresso Shot episode David and Mike unpack the UK Government’s 25 March 2026 announcements on Local Government Reorganisation in England. These included proposed moves from 44 authorities to 16 unitaries across Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex, Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, and the paused decision on Sussex and Brighton & Hove pending further consultation. They ask: Is this good news, bad news, or indifferent for local economic development and placemaking? And what does it mean when reorganisation lands alongside emergent mayoral / sub‑regional governance, with real risks around delivery capacity, 'shadow' arrangements, and keeping LED priorities visible during transition?

    11 min
  8. AI in the economic development professional's day job: tools, traps and human judgement

    9 de abr.

    AI in the economic development professional's day job: tools, traps and human judgement

    Is AI changing how you do local economic development and placemaking – or just adding noise? In this Espresso Shot episode, David and Mike share real examples of using AI to augment workshop management, support  stakeholder engagement and review business cases, alongside stories of mistranslations and “garbage” syntheses. They explore where AI genuinely augments LED work – and where human judgement, strategic insight and relationship‑building still have to lead.

    13 min
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Sobre

Podcast about local economic development and placemaking. Co-hosted by Mike Spicer of PolicyDepartment and David Marlow of Third Life Economics. Mike, David and guests address the divisive, often unspoken issues facing economic development professionals in 2020s Britain. Website: www.ledconfidential.co.uk

Informações

  • Criado por
    LED Confidential
  • Anos de atividade
    2022 - 2026
  • Episódios
    127
  • Classificação
    Livre
  • Copyright
    © LED Confidential
  • Site do podcast
    LED Confidential

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