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Governing Stoke-on-Trent:
A study of system, economic and
political failure
Michael Tappin
The Context
Matthew Rice (MD Emma Bridgewater) quoted
in the Daily Telegraph (23rd Nov 2010)
“If you go around Stoke these days there is (sic)
lots of bare land where things have been
demolished. I’ve no idea what it looks like in
Helmand Province, But I get the feeling it
would look a little like here.”
Political Career
• 1980-84 Councillor Newcastle-u-Lyme
• 1981-97 County Councillor Staffs CC
Chair: Planning, Enterprise & Economic
Development Committees
• 1993-4 Chair West Midlands Strategic
Planning Authority
• 1985-94 Member Board West Midlands
Development Agency
1994-1999 MEP Staffordshire West
and Congleton
• Member of Budget, Budget Control and
Economic & Monetary Affairs Committees
• 1995-9 Led for PES on Budget Control Com
• 1994-9 President of Ceramic Inter-Group,
championing the industry in North Staffs and
Europe. Successful in gaining funding for the
industry & preventing illegal Chinese imports
into Europe
2001-6 Chair Stoke South PCT
2004-8 Councillor Stoke City
Cabinet Member for Finance
2007-8 Leader of the Labour Group
2008-10 Member Transition Board
The Stoke Challenges
• The spatial dimension
• “It’s the economy, stupid.”
• The problem of political
institutions/governance
• A broken political system?
The Spatial Dimension
• Geographically constrained. Area 93 sq. km
Tightly enclosed by Stafford (598), Staffs Moorlands (576), & Newcastle-u-Lyme (211)
• Polycentric not Centre-periphery conurbation
• 6 Towns: Hanley, regional shopping centre, Stoke, administrative hub.
• 56 Villages
• Creates a culture of social and political localism and local rivalry. Problem for governance.
Staffordshire - District Boundaries
Transportation
• By passed by M6
• A500 the D Road only serves Stoke
• Road networks poor
• Public Transport poor: problem of linear city
Consequence:
1. Communities isolated/insular. (56 villages)
2. Travel to work problematic
3. Access to public services problematic
• Car ownership: 34% households without a car
“It’s the economy, stupid”
• Oxford student. “I’m reading P.P.E.”
Stokie: “What’s that mean?”
Oxford student. “Philosophy, politics &
economics, stupid”
Stokie: “Well lad, here it means Pits, Pots and
Engineering!”
The Stoke economy pre 1990
Stoke Economy
1939 2001
Smithies 256 0
Mines 13 0
Blast Furnaces 2 0
Potteries 350+ 50
Employment 1
1950s 2001
Ceramics 70,000 6,000
Steel 10,000+ 200
Mining 20,000+ 0
• 1951 Mining 8%
Manufacturing 58% Total 66%
England & Wales figure 40%
Employment 2
Industrial Base 1971-1981
• Trend away from manufacturing to service
sector but only 2% of labour force
• Manufacturing jobs fell by 28,000
• Ceramics down 12,000 jobs affected by over
valuation of sterling
• First of pit closures, Chatterley Whitfield
• Stoke an “isolated” economy (self sustaining)
• A counter cyclical economy
Employment 3
Industrial base 1981 -present
• Shift from manufacturing and energy (coal)
• Manufacturing employment below 20%
• Ceramics decimated and outsourced
• Mining gone
• Rise in distribution and retailing employment
Chatterley Whitfield Colliery
Shelton Bar - Etruria
Unemployment
• 1950s-60s, unemployment averaged 3%
Below 2% and under 2,500 for most of the
period. Labour shortage.
Figures lower than the UK
• 1970s-90s Varied between 10-20,000 or
hovered around 15%
• But unemployment mirrored the UK average
Unemployment:
Latest figures
• 55,550 on “Out of work” benefits in N. Staffs
• Stoke-on-Trent: 35,860 (65%) (Feb 2009)
• 24.1% working age population (17.8%
W.Mids, 15.7% UK)
• 15,350 not worked for 5 yrs or more (43% of
those out of work)
Benefit Figures
Of the 55,550 on benefit in N. Staffs
• 28,470 Incapacity Benefit
• 12,660 Job Seekers Allowance and ESA
• 6,260 Income support
The Culture of Contentment (Galbraith)
Educational attainment
Percentage NVQ attainment of working age
population
Stoke W. Mids England
NVQ Level 2 53.8 61.6 64.6
NVQ Level 3 32.3 42.3 45.6
NVQ Level 4 14.4 24.5 28.7
What is particularly frustrating about the
housing issues in Stoke is that through their
'regeneration' agenda, they are in the process
of creating an affordable housing problem via
the demolition of the area's affordable
housing.
The Problem of Governance
Institutional Problems 1
• 1977-97 Powers to the County.
1. The emergence of County Government:
Education, Social Services, Planning etc
centralised at Stafford
2. District Council status for Stoke
3. Senior politicians go south
4. The second team remain in Stoke
Stoke-on-Trent
Town Hall
Institutional Problems 2
• 1994-6 Powers back to the City OR NOT!
The Options
1.Stoke Unitary Council
2.North Staffs Authority: Stoke, Newcastle, Moorlands, Stafford Borough(?)
3.Stoke and Newcastle
The politicians are gutless!
• 1996 Stoke becomes a Unitary Authority
The Problems of Governance
Politics 1
• 1996 Elections: Labour 60 Rest 0
The arrogance of power
• 2000-2002 The collapse of Labour Party
dominance and the Mayoral campaign.
• May 2002 Mayoral referendum: “Who’s afraid
of the Big Bad Wolfe?” T.O 27.8%
• Elected Mayor system approved 28,601 to
20,578. Wolfe becomes Elected Mayor
Politics 2
2002-2008
• Labour declines still further
Election Seats Vote %
2002 21 40.75
2003 26 34.79
2004 30 35.74
2006 32 32.49
2007 24 30.57
2008 17 25.07
Politics 3
• The rise of the “Independents” and the BNP – “all
politics is local”
• The Conservatives stay grounded
• 2005 Election of Labour Mayor
• 2006-8 The Grand Coalition: Lab + Cons. Libs join
in 2007
• 2009 Mayoral referendum (Again). T.O 19.23%
Elected Mayor goes. Leader and Cabinet model.
Politics 4
Labour 14 Lib Dems 5 BNP 7
City Indep 16 Cons 7 SoT Ind 2
Non-align 3 Libertarian 1 Ind 2
Potteries Alliance 2
• Ross Irving (C) Elected Leader of a coalition with the City Independents
• Labour in opposition
2009 Council (60 Councillors)
Politics 4
2010 Council (60 Councillors)
Labour 27 Lib Dems 4 BNP 5
City Indep 8 Cons 7 Community Voice 5
Libertarian 1 Inds 3
• Mohamed Pervez (Lab) elected leader of a
coalition with Conservatives and Lib Dems
• Opposition fragmented
Former Chief Executive – Steve Robinson
The Problems of Governance
Administrative Leadership
2001-10 The paid service
6 Chief Executives
Chief Education Officer leaves, SERCO appointed
5 Directors of Social Services/Adult Care
3 Finance Officers
Over £6m spent annually on consultants from
A budget of £212m
Problems of Governance
Who Rules in Stoke?
The Fragmentation of Decision-making
• Renew: Housing Partnership
• Local Strategic Partnership (LSP) Now
Public/Private/Third sector + community.
Agrees Local Area Agreement (LAA)
• North Staffs Regeneration Partnership/LEP
• City Council
A Broken Political System
A Poorly Performing Council
Education 80% indicators in bottom 2 quartiles
2007 34.6% 3A* GCSEs A-C(W Mids 42.7%, Eng 46.5%)
21% 16-18 yr olds Not in Emp / Ed or Training
Employment 60% indicators in bottom quartile
Health 70% indicators in bottom quartile.
Life expectancy for men 73.7yrs (76.9) Women 79.9 (81.1)
A baby boy born today will die 3 years earlier and a girl 2 years earlier than in the UK
People in Stoke more likely to die of circulatory disease, cancer, respiratory diseases than elsewhere
A Broken Political System
Safety 63% indicators in bottom 2 quartiles
Community Engagement 82% indicators in
bottom 2 quartiles.
Audit Commissions Organisational health
rating: 68/75 authorities
Housing RENEW project to bring 50,000 houses
up to modern standards
A Broken Political System
Lack of Political Leadership
• Quality of councillors poor
• Lack of strategic thinking
• Localised thinking
Lack of Civic Capacity
• A small middle class
• Long term animosities in the political system
A Broken Political System
Lack of Social Capital
Partnership working poor. Although partners
drawn together and strategies agreed,
implementation has been poor. E.g recent
announcement on cancelling the strategic
partnership
Poor economic regeneration. Where are the
cranes, where are the jobs?
Governance Commission
• Appointed Autumn 2007
• Chair Prof Michael Clarke
• Terms of Reference:
1.“To consider options about future governance
arrangements for S-O-T Council to deliver that
strong, effective & accountable leadership
that the city needs to address the economic,
social and cohesion challenges which it faces.
Governance Commission
2. To give consideration to governance across the wider public/private sector EG the LSP and to the importance of economic regeneration and community cohesion.
3. To consider the relationship between Stoke-on-Trent and the wider sub-regional/ regional/national bodies including other Local Authorities and their partners within the region.”
Recommendations 1
• “Given the evidence of civic disengagement
recommends the creation of a Transition
Board … comprising of people who live and
work in S-O-T to represent the public/private
and third sectors which will monitor the
implementations of the recommendations.
The Council to present an Action plan
immediately with time lines for action.”
Recommendations 2
• All out elections
• Single member wards
• Smaller council
• Devolution of governance
• Improve community engagement
• Strengthen the political machinery
• Member development
• Raise profile of Stoke-on-Trent
• Stoke-on-Trent and North Staffs
Some Solutions
All out Elections with single member wards
Reduce size of Council
Decentralise decision-making establishing
neighbourhood councils
Political parties in invest in training for
prospective civic leaders
Local businesses give staff time off for council
duties.
Some solutions
Council decide on core business: What should a council provide
Improve partnership working
Reduce the number of ad hoc organisations
Make more use of the third sector.
Build civic capacity
Develop leadership skills in the community
Politics IS an honourable profession
A North Staffs Authority (again!)
Recommended