Matthew Fright
Senior Researcher
Matthew's recent work
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.
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
More devolution is welcome – but it needs strengthened metro mayor accountability
Current accountability arrangements in England’s mayoral combined authorities are underpowered.
All work
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.
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
More devolution is welcome – but it needs strengthened metro mayor accountability
Current accountability arrangements in England’s mayoral combined authorities are underpowered.
How the government can extend devolution to the whole of England
Half of England's population currently is not covered by any form of devolution.
Vaughan Gething’s successor as Welsh first minister faces three key challenges
Wales is preparing for its next first minster – the third since the start of the year.
The next government needs a new strategy for the union
The devolution agenda needs a rethink.
Six things we learned from the May 2024 local and mayoral elections
IfG experts analyse the results of the local and mayoral elections.
How the next government should complete the job of English devolution
The next government must extend devolution to 85% of England to deliver meaningful and balanced economic growth.
Mayor of the West Midlands
On 2 May 2024, voters in Birmingham and six neighbouring local areas elected Richard Parker as the mayor of the West Midlands.
Mayor of Greater Manchester
On 2 May 2024, Andy Burnham was elected for the third time as mayor of Greater Manchester