@mikespicer-pd.bsky.social
Managing Director of consultancy PolicyDepartment. We empower the civic-minded organisations that invest in enterprise programmes, industrial strategy, and local economic development.
@mikespicer-pd.bsky.socialCan universities still be the anchor partners our local economic plans assume? Our new LEDC episode with Brunel VC Prof Andrew Jones looks at civic roles under financial pressure, the Heathrow and West London opportunity, and what sector professionals can do support the universities on their patch
@mikespicer-pd.bsky.socialQuick nudge 👇 Whitehall secondments into mayoral authorities: capacity building or culture change? Catch our latest LED Confidential podcast episode covering this Number 10 North initiative and who's doing capacity building that sticks.
@mikespicer-pd.bsky.socialThe biggest impact from Whitehall secondments into Mayoral Strategic Authorities might not be in MSAs themselves. If it becomes a must-have experience for serious policy careers, the biggest payoff could be culture change in Whitehall. David Marlow and I discuss in our latest LEDC podcast.
@mikespicer-pd.bsky.socialQuick nudge 👇 Onshore wind is back in England but can host communities reap the benefits? David Marlow and I explore in our latest LED Confidential episode
@mikespicer-pd.bsky.socialPlanning applications for onshore wind in England are at a ten-year high. Our new LED Confidential podcast episode explores how host communities can capture the benefits and why renewable generation belongs in local economic strategy as a wealth question, not just an infrastructure one.
@mikespicer-pd.bsky.socialQuick nudge 👇 Homes or data centres? And has anyone done the energy and water sums? Catch our latest LED Confidential Espresso Shot on the new National Planning Policy Framework and the choice-of-use questions it leaves places to answer.
@mikespicer-pd.bsky.socialDoes the new National Planning Policy Framework pay enough attention to local economic development and placemaking or is it still mainly about homes? Our new 10-minute LED Confidential episode looks at the energy and water trade-offs in its push for homes, AI growth zones and data centres
@mikespicer-pd.bsky.socialQuick nudge 👇 Can Scotland build its own "Manchesterism" within a tripartite governance system? Check out our latest LED Confidential episode with guest David Waite from the University of Glasgow.
@mikespicer-pd.bsky.socialShould Scotland copy Greater Manchester's playbook, or build its own model of regional empowerment? Our new LED Confidential episode with David Waite (University of Glasgow) digs into Glasgow City Region's £400m devolution bid and what a genuinely Scottish approach to devolution could look like.
@mikespicer-pd.bsky.socialQuick nudge 👇 If a 48-nation World Cup can't dislodge the existing footballing hierarchy, can devolution dislodge the existing hierarchy of the UK's local economies? David Marlow and I discuss (somewhat light-heartedly!) in our latest LED Confidential podcast episode
@mikespicer-pd.bsky.socialThe semi-finalists of World Cup 2026 were who the rankings said they'd be before a ball was kicked. So is "good growth in every postcode" a genuine goal, or just better branding of a predetermined set of outcomes? David Marlow and I discuss In our latest LED Confidential podcast episode.
