Episode 4: Power, Pounds and Place - and the origins of the Silken Rope

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.”