Paul Bettison
Born in Preston, Lancashire, 55 years ago, Paul has spent most of his life in the South of England. Paul has been married to Jean for 32 years, and they have two daughters, Clare (24) and Emily (23).
Having spent ten successful years with US based Rockwell International, before setting up his own successful business supplying printing equipment to the UK newspaper and general printing industry during the mid 1980s, Paul turned to local politics as his next challenge in 1991. He was elected to Sandhurst Town Council in May of that year, and to Bracknell Forest Borough Council at a by-election in October 1991. He rose first in the Town Council, becoming Deputy Mayor in 1992 and Mayor from 1993-1995. In 1996 Paul was elected Leader of the Conservative Group (then in opposition) at Bracknell Forest. In the elections in May 1997, Paul led the Conservative Group to victory, gaining the distinction of being the only Conservative Leader in the country to wrest power from Labour on what was generally not a good day for the Conservative cause!
Under Paul’s leadership, the Conservative Group at Bracknell Forest managed a “seamless” transition to unitary status in 1998, and following many innovative local government initiatives, he led his Group to further gains in May 2000, 2003 and 2007 with swings to the Conservatives of twice the national average.
Paul is active within the LGA, and is firmly committed to local government representation at the highest level. From 2000 to 2002 he was Chairman of the LGA’s Housing Executive and oversaw the introduction of many innovations in Bracknell Forest’s housing service. Paul believes fervently in local authorities’ power of community wellbeing and asks, ‘What could be more fundamental to anyone’s wellbeing than the roof over their head?’ From 2002 – 2004 he chaired the LGA’s Rural Commission and Executive, and was successful in persuading DEFRA that local government can play a key rôle in the delivery of the rural agenda in the post-Haskins era. He currently chairs the LGA Environment Board and also sits on the LGA Executive. Paul was, for five years, the Local Government Association e-Government Champion and is the Conservative Party’s National spokesman on local government ICT matters. He has been on the Board of Directgov, Government Connect, and of the National Opportunity Card since 2005.
Located in the heart of the UK’s “silicon valley” Paul’s authority of Bracknell Forest is seen as the leading UK council in the area of electronic service delivery, with Bracknell Forest on-line, BF Net, a thriving CRM roll-out, and the world’s first multi-application smartcard – e+. A long list of awards is testimony to his council’s commitment to e-Government.
A firm believer in self-help for local government, Paul spent 18 months as a peer mentor to the Leader of the Conservative Group of Hackney LBC, and performed the same task for the Leader of Walsall MBC for 5 years. Paul has worked with Swindon Borough Council, Kingston upon Hull Council, North East Lincs Council, Plymouth Borough Council, Trafford MBC, Northampton Borough Council, Milton Keynes Borough Council, Southampton City Council and the Isle of Wight Council. He is the National Lead Conservative Member Peer at the Improvement & Development Agency (IDeA).
Paul retired from his business activities in 2004, and now devotes himself full-time to Local Government.
Headlines
13 Nov 2008
EVENT "How can Local Authorities tackle the issues associated with 'at risk' families in deprived areas?"
This joint event with Westminster City Council on the 11th November aimed to tackle some of the important issues around how 'problem' families can be addressed.
The speakers wer Clare Tickell, Chief Executive for Action for Children, Colin Barrow, Leader of Westminster Council, Shaun Bailey, Founder of 'My Generation' and PPC for Hammersmith and Chris Bullivant, Projects Director from the Centre for Social Justice. he event was well attended, and a lively debate ensued.
28 Oct 2008
Councillor Merrick Cockell appointed as Chairman of Localis
Councilor Merrick Cockell, leader of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea has been appointed as the new Chairman of Localis, the leading local government think tank.
James Morris, Chief Executive of Localis said: 'I am delighted that Merrick has agreed to become Chairman of Localis at this important time for local government and the broader localist agenda. His experience as one of the countries leading local authority leaders will be immensely valuable to Localis as we develop our policy agenda over the coming years.
Councillor Merrick Cockell said: ...
27 Oct 2008
PUBLICATION "Information, Information, Information"
This research note argues that a much wider public release of information is needed in order to increase and improve trust in and accountability of public bodi
es operating at the local level. Picking up on evidence from at home and abroad, it suggests far-reaching changes to our current relationship with information, from reforming the national indicator set to tailoring information to the needs of local areas. To read the full research note, click here<...
09 Oct 2008
PUBLICATION: Big Ideas: Building on Conservative Fundamentals
Localis and the Conservative Councils Innovation Unit publish the first in a series of booklets on innovative practice and ideas at the local level. To read the full publication, please click here
09 Sep 2008
EVENT "The future of public facing crime mapping in the UK - will it show people what they want to know?"
Localis will be hosting a panel debate on the future of public facing crime mapping in the UK at 12.30 on Thursday 25th September at The Ideas Space, 10 Storeys Gate, Westminster, SW1P 3AY.
To find out more click here or email info@localisresearch.org
03 Sep 2008
Conservative Party Conference Event: Breaking up Britain: The future of regional governance
Localis will be hosting a panel debate at the Conservative party conference in Birmingham on the 30th September at 12.45 at the Delphi Hotel. The topic of debate will be the future of regional governance in the UK.
Contributing to the debate will be Eric Pickles, Shadow Minister for Local Government; Demot Finch, Director of the Centre for Cities; Sheila Childerhouse, board member of EEDA; and James Morris, Chief Executive Localis. To find out more about this event contact info@localisresearch.org
08 Jul 2008
Localis at LGA Conference
Merrick Cockell, Chairman of London Councils delivers speech on 'The spread of innovation between local authorities' at a Localis fringe reception at the LGA Conference 2008. To read the speech in full, click here
25 Jun 2008
James Morris gives evidence at Local Government Select Committee
James Morris gives evidence to a Parliamentary Select Committee on the 'Relationship between Central and Local Government'. See here to watch the meeting in full.
09 Jun 2008
The Million Vote Mandate: The Challenges facing Boris Johnson
The new Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, was elected a month ago with the votes of over 1 million Londoners. This has given him a considerable popular mandate.
Now, a new report from leading think tanks Policy Exchange and Localis, the local government and localist think tank, looks at the big issues the new Mayor will face in his first term as set out by some of the foremost experts and commentators on London politics.
The opening chapter of the report, written by award winning Evening Standard journalist Andrew Gilligan, analyses the positives ...
03 Jun 2008
Localis proposes a radical overhaul of the current system of regional governance
A new Localis Research Note entitled 'The Future of Regional Governance' suggests that the Government's case for Regional Development Agencies (RDAs) is based on little or no evidence, and that the current Sub-National Review (SNR) does not go far enough to devolve power to local authorities (LAs). The report proposes a dramatic overhaul of the current responsibilities of RDAs.
