Mar 8Council tax, not failed investments, to blame for Conservative-run Thurrock going bust, claims leader“Disinfectant is the best form of decision-making.” It’s an odd quote, but then it’s been an odd interview. Forty-five minutes with Mark Coxshall, leader of beleaguered Thurrock Council, the local authority which has amassed the largest single-year deficit in history thanks to a policy of pouring hundreds of millions of…Thurrock Council8 min readThurrock Council8 min read
Jan 31Thurrock asks government for £635m in wake of historic investment scandalThurrock has asked the government for more than £600m of financial support — and admits it could need even more — to plug the unprecedented budget gap caused by the collapse of its investment policy. The staggering figure is revealed in budget papers published by the Conservative-run council this week…Thurrock Council5 min readThurrock Council5 min read
Jan 10Tory council slammed for ‘hugely unfair’ plan to make residents foot bill for investment scandalA Conservative-run local authority has been heavily criticised over plans to impose “unjust” tax increases on residents in response to its unprecedented financial crisis. Thurrock Council effectively declared bankruptcy last month as the result of a failed investment policy which has left it with a deficit of nearly £500m —…Thurrock6 min readThurrock6 min read
Nov 1, 2022Council could sell 10,000 homes as leader warns investments scandal has put “everything on the table”Thurrock’s 10,000 council homes could be sold as part of plans to plug the gaping hole left by the collapse of the local authority’s £1bn borrowing and investments policy. Council leader Mark Coxshall has admitted the drastic measure is among options being considered in response to a financial scandal which…Thurrock4 min readThurrock4 min read
Oct 18, 2022Thurrock Council in ‘grave danger’ as leader promises openness and honestyThe newly elected leader of beleaguered Thurrock Council says the authority is in “grave danger” but has promised a “new era of openness, transparency and honesty”. Mark Coxshall was elected at last week’s full council meeting, the first since the urgent government intervention in September which led to the resignation…Thurrock Council4 min readThurrock Council4 min read
Oct 10, 2022Council to count cost of investment scandal for decadesThurrock Council will be counting the cost of its financial crisis for more than 20 years, starting with soaring interest payments and a “significant write-off” of its investments. That was the bleak message from a senior council official as the scandal was finally discussed in public for the first time. …Thurrock Council5 min readThurrock Council5 min read
Jun 9, 2021Days after an election, council reveals 90% of its savings have disappearedWhen voters in the Berkshire town of Slough went to the polls to vote in May’s local elections they did so believing their council’s finances were secure — only to discover shortly afterward that it had effectively run out of money. In March, councillors approved a balanced budget for the…Politics5 min readPolitics5 min read
Published in Bureau Local·Sep 7, 2017Intensive and polluted farms: An unexpected collaborationBureau Local reporter Gareth Davies writes about the power local reporters had in the Bureau’s national farming investigations. For the past two months, reporters across the country have been working with the Bureau to explore two big issues in UK farming — intensification and pollution — as part of its…Journalism6 min readJournalism6 min read
Apr 22, 2017The i newspaper asks journalism students to work for free during general electionStudents have criticised the i newspaper after being asked to work for free during this year’s general election. Journalism students at City, University of London were sent an email on Thursday telling them the i was forming a “nationwide unit of the best journalism students” to help the national newspaper…Journalism5 min readJournalism5 min read
Mar 31, 2017Trinity Mirror, the largest publisher of local news in the UK, is deleting thousands of articles from public viewThe largest publisher of local news in the UK is removing thousands of articles from public view. Trinity Mirror has decided not to transfer its newspapers’ digital archives when switching the titles over to new websites, making those stories inaccessible to readers. Thousands of articles published by titles such as…Journalism4 min readJournalism4 min read
