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

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32 episodes
weekly
Avg 19 min
English

Episodes 32

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June 4 · 10 min
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.
May 28 · 10 min
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.
May 7 · 11 min
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.
April 30 · 42 min
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.
April 23 · 12 min
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?
April 16 · 11 min
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?
April 9 · 12 min
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.
April 2 · 10 min
What does the "Green wave" mean for local economic development and placemaking?
What happens to local economic development when Green Party councillors and (potentially) mayors become a major force in local government? David and Mike explore the “Green wave” – from housing quality and community ownership to a proposed uplift in local government funding tied to net zero and inclusion – and ask whether our current tools and economic plans are ready for it.
March 26 · 11 min
Is energy now the organising principle for local economic development and placemaking?
Is the capacity of our power infrastructure now the majordeterminant of local and regional growth? David and Mike explore how grid constraints, global energy shocks and local political battles over the net zero transition are reshaping regeneration pipelines, spatial strategies and local economic plans. They ask what role Mayoral Strategic Authorities, non -mayoral areas and infrastructure providers should play as energy becomes an organising principle for LED.
March 19 · 42 min
Team Edinburgh: the growing role of business leadership in shaping modern local economic development
Edinburgh is one of the UK’s star city economies. But is success breeding complacency? David and Mike talk to Liz McAreavey, Chief Executive of Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce, about Edinburgh 2030 – a business‑led call to action that aims to turn a patchwork of sector plans into a clear local growth strategy and a stronger “Team Edinburgh” voice. They discuss models for strategic leadership, regional powers, and why investing in foundations like skills, housing, lab space and transport is critical to delivering good, poverty‑reducing growth from a position of strength.
March 12 · 11 min
Making sense of England's new Local Growth Fund: regional strategy or tactical retreat?
The Chancellor has confirmed a new Local Growth Fund (LGF) – a £900m, four‑year capital pot reserved for 11 Mayoral Strategic Authorities (MSAs) in the North and Midlands of England. But the annual average of £225m is around 60% lower than England’s final‑year UK Shared Prosperity Fund allocation, and many places – including London, the South East, most rural counties and non‑mayoral areas – will receive nothing from this scheme. In this Espresso Shot, David and Mike ask whether LGF represents a serious new regional policy – or simply a smaller, more selective successor to the UK Shared Prosperity Fund. They explore the risks of widening disparities within and between regions, the challenges of aligning LGF with integrated settlements, visitor levies, investment zones and other funding pots, and what all this means for capital‑heavy programmes where revenue and community‑level capacity often lag behind. Can MSAs use LGF catalytically – and what are practitioners in non‑funded areas supposed to do next?
March 5 · 12 min
Pride in Place extended - transformation or tactical top‑up?
The UK Government has expanded its Pride in Place (PiP) programme – £20m over 10 years for each selected neighbourhood, with local boards deciding how to spend it on high streets, youth centres, community spaces and events. At the same time, the Independent Commission on Neighbourhoods (ICON) warns that current approaches are too small‑scale and partial to turn around outcomes like crime and economic inactivity by 2030. In this Espresso Shot, David and Mike explore what the PiP extension really means for LED professionals. They discuss the tensions of local authorities being both accountable body and ‘institution‑builder’, the risk of creating neighbourhood structures dependent on town halls, and the absence of an explicit economic foundation or public service integration in the PiP model. What does a genuinely strategic approach to neighbourhood renewal look like – and can PiP be stretched to deliver it?

Showing 21–32 of 32 episodes