Lost Lobos Part 2

19 January 2016UncategorizedKent council, LOBOs, municipal finance, Newham council, Redcar & Cleveland councilNick Dunbar

When I was in my twenties, I worked on a film being shot on location in the London borough of Newham. The film itself, which starred Jude Law and Sadie Frost, was forgettable, but one memory that stayed with me was the all-pervading smell of refined sugar from the nearby Tate & Lyle factory by the river Thames.

Lost Lobos Part 2

16 December 2014Economics, Municipal Financeinterest rates, Kent council, local government, municipal finance, Newham council, public policy, Redcar & Cleveland councilNick Dunbar

Lost Lobos

24 October 2014Municipal Financederivatives, Kent council, LOBOs, municipal finance, public policyNick Dunbar

For as long as most people can remember, UK municipal finance has been safe and boring. In the wild days of the 1980s, Hammersmith & Fulham council almost went bust speculating in derivatives, and was saved by a landmark House of Lords ruling. Since then, UK council borrowing has been tightly constrained by central government while derivative use has been banned.