Local government boss forced out

The chief executive of the Local Government Association (LGA) has said he was effectively forced from his job.

Paul Coen, who has worked at the LGA for three years, confirmed he had been asked to take a leave of absence, citing a breakdown between management and the political leadership.

“Since September it has become increasingly difficult to have confidence that the political leadership and the managerial leadership of the LGA are at one on both the direction of travel and the day-to-day leadership of the association,” he said.

The LGA represents councils in England and Wales, who support it through subscriptions.
It is notoriously difficult to maintain, depending as it does on consensus between the three main parties.