Dear readers – welcome to a very special edition of The Tribune. Today’s newsletter is devoted to council gossip, key moments from the drudgery of endless local authority meetings and all the ways taxpayers’ money is being spent in South Yorkshire.
One of our campaign pledges if we reached 1,000 new subscribers was to engage citizens with local democracy, producing a monthly round-up of the key meetings and decisions taken in the council chamber and at the combined authority. This month has been a bit quieter — it’s summer holiday season after all — but there’s still been a fair bit going on.
So let’s dive in. For now, the consequences of the May elections that saw a Labour drubbing and a massive Green and Reform surge are still mostly in the realm of politics rather than policy or changes that will impact our lives, but there’s still plenty happening you should know about.
Like: what’s going on with all those new councillors who didn’t expect to win and might not quite know what they have signed themselves up for? And: does the eternal local plan saga have yet another twist in store?
A note from the author, Mollie: This is our first time writing a newsletter that’s solely devoted to political coverage, and we hope you come away from it feeling better informed. We’re keen to hear from readers about how you found it, so we can make it even better next time. Just get in touch via email, or leave a comment below.
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