Author Archive

Laird Ryan

Laird Ryan is a Co-Director of the National Coalition for Independent Action. A freelance advisor on planning, equalities and community development, he has held a range of senior roles in government, academia and the voluntary sector.

Considering a wide range of media reports and commentaries on the UK’s ongoing devolution debate – do the solutions politicians seem to be offering genuinely address the issues as seen by local people? In recent weeks, the media has been awash with articles and reports about proposed new ways of governing different parts of the UK. Clearly, the Scottish referendum has awoken a sleeping giant – something that our national political class should ignore at its peril. Because devolution goes to the heart of the localism debate, we’ve put together a representative cross-section of what’s out there.