Matthew Fright
Senior Researcher
Matthew's recent work
Local elections 2024: 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.
Local elections 2024: Mayor of Greater Manchester
On 2 May 2024, Andy Burnham was elected for the third time as mayor of Greater Manchester
Local elections 2024: Mayor of West Yorkshire
On 2 May 2024, voters elected Tracy Brabin as Mayor of West Yorkshire
All work
Parliament should do more to scrutinise the government’s plans for emergency response
PACAC has looked at the rollout of the new emergency messaging system tested in April.
Hitting the 20,000 police officer target won’t fix the criminal justice sector’s problems
Hitting its police officer recruitment target is impressive, but wider problems need addressing.
Performance Tracker 2022/23: Spring update - Children's social care
Referrals have returned to pre-pandemic levels while the the number of children remaining in care has increased pressure on the system.
Performance Tracker 2022/23: Spring update - Police
The nature of police work changed during the height of the pandemic, but is now returning to previous patterns – while some challenges grow.
Performance Tracker 2022/23: Spring update - Methodology
Background information on our research for each spending area.
Performance Tracker 2022/23: Spring update
Public services won’t have returned to pre-pandemic performance by the next election.
Performance Tracker 2022/23: Spring update - Neighbourhood services
Neighbourhood services – food safety, libraries, road maintenance, and waste collection – entered the pandemic with reduced or changed amenities.
The government must urgently make clear who is responsible for children seeking asylum
The Department for Education must urgently clarify who is responsible for unaccompanied asylum-seeking children.
Using the military to respond to public sector strikes
What are the criteria for deploying the military to support public services?
Croydon Council’s struggle to balance the books
Latest financial statement should be a warning to other strapped councils – and to the government, says Matthew Fright