Truth about Local Government

Too many people step into elected office without a clear understanding of what the councillor role really involves, the workload, the emotional labour, the strategic responsibility, and the sheer breadth of services they’ll be accountable for.
In this episode Matt sits down with sector leader, trainer, mentor, and long‑serving Kingston councillor Liz Green to explore her 3S model, Stewardship, Strategy, and Support, and why councils should start induction before someone even becomes a councillor.
Together they unpack what early preparation could look like, how to set realistic expectations for candidates, and why better‑supported councillors lead to better outcomes for residents. This is a must‑listen for officers, political groups, prospective candidates, and anyone who cares about strengthening local democracy.

In this episode, the conversation centres on how RPNA is helping councils move beyond traditional transformation pitfalls to deliver better outcomes for residents. Ashley Roper introduces RPNA’s SA3 process, a pro bono strategic assessment tool designed to help local authorities understand their readiness for change and identify the most impactful areas for intervention. The SA3 process was recently piloted with the London Borough of Bexley, where Chief Executive Paul Thorogood shares his reflections on its value and impact.
RPNA’s approach is grounded in the belief that transformation must be outcome-led, not technology-led. The SA3 process begins with a baseline assessment across three dimensions: strategic alignment, organisational capability, and operational readiness. This diagnostic helps councils pinpoint gaps in their transformation plans and develop a roadmap that is both ambitious and achievable. According to RPNA, councils often underestimate the importance of internal capability and over-rely on external solutions, leading to fragile programmes that struggle to embed change.
Paul Thorogood, appointed Chief Executive of Bexley in 2023, describes how the SA3 process helped his leadership team clarify priorities amidst financial pressures and rising demand. Bexley’s Medium Term Financial Strategy outlines a significant funding gap, with transformation now central to bridging it. The council has launched five major programmes Customer Experience, Children’s Services, Commercial, Culture, and Corporate Core each designed to improve outcomes while maintaining service quality.
Thorogood notes that RPNA’s independent assessment provided “critical friend” insight, helping Bexley avoid common pitfalls such as overambitious timelines, underdeveloped governance, and poor staff engagement. The SA3 process also supported Bexley’s commitment to co-production, ensuring that transformation is shaped by those who deliver and use services.
Ashley Roper emphasises that RPNA’s work is not about delivering transformation for councils, but enabling them to own and sustain it. Their methodology, TEN96, includes tools for programme design, diagnostics, and interim leadership support. RPNA’s ethos is to empower brilliant people to break free from legacy constraints and embrace modern, flexible ways of working.

Matt Masters sits down with Tim Oliver, Leader of Surrey County Council, for an in‑depth conversation about Surrey’s transformation journey and what it means to lead one of the country’s most complex local government systems. With Surrey often viewed as the first major test case for large‑scale reorganisation, Tim reflects on the pressures, opportunities, and leadership choices shaping the council’s future. This episode offers a candid look at decision‑making, system change, and the realities of steering a county through uncertainty, ambition, and national attention.

Nottinghamshire County Council has become one of the sector’s standout examples of what a modern, strategic corporate landlord approach can achieve. In this episode, Matt Masters sits down with Wayne Bexton, Director of Economy, Environment and Assets, to unpack how Nottinghamshire has reshaped its estate, accelerated disposals, unlocked capital receipts, and used regeneration as a lever for long‑term place impact.
Wayne shares the thinking behind their model, the practical steps that made the biggest difference, and the cultural and organisational shifts required to make it stick. From governance to data, from political alignment to community outcomes, this conversation offers a grounded, honest look at what it really takes to deliver a corporate landlord approach that works.
Perfect for Directors of Place, Heads of Property, Section 151 Officers, and anyone navigating the complexity of estate transformation in local government.

Care in the UK is at a breaking point. With 70% of local authority budgets consumed by care services, rising costs, and profits flowing to private equity and tax havens, the system is failing the people it’s meant to serve. New research from the Centre for Local Economic Strategies, Centre for Thriving Places, Cooperatives UK and the New Economics Foundation reveals that in just three regions, private care providers extracted £256 million in profit over three years, while care workers, disproportionately women and those from global majority backgrounds are often paid below the Real Living Wage.
In this episode, Matt Masters speaks with Rosie Maguire, Policy and Programme Manager at the Centre for Thriving Places. Rosie has spent the last 15 years helping organisations use evidence to shape strategy, research, and learning. She works with civil society and the public sector to identify goals, priorities, and how insights can inform better decisions. Together, they explore why care has become a commodity, how this extraction undermines communities, and what a fair, community-focused alternative looks like.