A politically astute group that has successfully revived the debate around localism.

Address: First Floor, New City Court, 20 St Thomas Street, London SE1 9RS
Telephone: 020 7357 0051
Email: info@nlgn.org.uk
Website: http:///www.nlgn.org.uk

Director: Chris Leslie
Deputy Director: Anna Turley
Head of Communications: James Hulme
Senior Researcher: Nigel Keohane

The position of UK local government has long been a weak one in what remains the most centralised country in the European Union. The politically independent New Local Government Network (NLGN) was founded in 1996 with the intention of revitalising a sector that had grown moribund under successive governments. Since then, its priority has been increasing trust in the area and influencing the organisation of local public services.

In 2001 the NLGN created an Innovation Network, providing a forum for dynamic local authorities to exchange ideas and discuss policy. The organisation has also been a strong advocate of elected mayors and following the first elections in 2002 it established a Mayoral Forum. The Forum has enabled the UK's twelve directly elected mayors to address common problems and to assess the impact of their work on local democracy.

The NLGN’s director Chris Leslie served two terms as the Labour MP for Shipley before joining the group in September 2005. Leslie has succeeded in raising the profile of the group, a point reflected by the speech Gordon Brown gave to the Network’s annual conference this year.

In the wake of the Baby P tragedy and the current crisis in social work, the NLGN’s forthcoming conference on Effectively Safeguarding Children is likely to receive much attention.

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