
Matthew Fright
Senior Researcher
Matthew's recent work
All work
Labour's devolution plans could mark the start of a generational shift in power
The government can claim some success in kick-starting a ‘devolution revolution’.
Mayoral and local elections 2025: The government should hold its course on devolution despite the rise of Reform
Labour will need to learn to work with local political leaders from opposition parties.
Mayor of South Yorkshire
On 2 May 2024, voters in South Yorkshire elected their metro mayor.
Mayor of the North East
How was the first mayor of the North East elected?
Mayor of the East Midlands
On 2 May 2024, voters elected Claire Ward as Mayor of the East Midlands.
Local and mayoral elections 2025
On Thursday, 1 May 2025, local and mayoral elections took place in many parts of England.
How can areas successfully reorganise local government and implement devolution at the same time?
How local leaders and central government can navigate the challenges of 'dual delivery'.
Labour’s Devolution Priority Programme is welcome – but the government must be alert to the delivery challenges
What is the government proposing in its latest devolution plan?
Local government unitarisation
Unitarisation is a type of local government reorganisation that replaces separate county and district councils with a single tier of local authorities
Nine things we learned from the English devolution white paper
What the white paper does and does not contain, and what challenges lie ahead for the government.