Jonathan Knott

Freelance Journalist

United Kingdom

I write news and features on arts, culture, politics, travel and other subjects. Contributing to Museums Journal, the Guardian, BBC Travel, the Sunday Telegraph and others. Email: knottjp [at] gmail.com

Portfolio

Politics

Local Government Chronicle
10/01/2021
Back to the future

The historic county names of Cumberland and Westmorland in 1974 were wiped from the political map. Almost 50 years later, they look set to make a reappearance – even if some services will remain county-wide

Local Government Chronicle
06/01/2021
Turbulence ahead

Council-owned airports have gone from cash cow to a drain on resources during the pandemic – and climate concerns have raised fundamental questions about their future

Local Government Chronicle
11/23/2021
Joined-up government? Don't hold your breath

The government tends to focus on words rather than action when it comes to the integration of public services, writes LGC acting news editor Jonathan Knott.

Public Finance
12/01/2016
Saving the last chance saloon

Should councils and communities raise a glass to their success in protecting the Great British Pub?

Impact magazine
08/07/2013
The behavioural insight hothouse

How the cabinet office's 'Nudge Unit' has grown to influence policy and strategy across government - and beyond.

the Guardian
03/15/2011
Keeping outdoor swimming afloat

Rowena Hoseason was dismayed when she discovered Cornwall county council planned to axe its subsidy for Bude sea pool. "When the council withdrew funding for the sea pool, people here were horrified," she says.

Travel

BBC Travel
02/03/2017
Hamilton's forgotten Caribbean

Nevis is less well-known than other Caribbean islands - and Nevisians prefer it that way. It's only a few miles across the water from lively St Kitts. But here, the most cacophonous noise you'll hear is the chirping of insects among the lush vegetation.

BBC Travel
07/03/2015
The Swedish cheese that can't be moved

As I reached the small village of Burträsk in northern Sweden, I saw snow piled by the roadsides like icing and a group of reindeer sitting down for a rest. When I got out of the car to take a photograph, they stood up, crossed the road and disappeared into the woods.

The Telegraph
02/23/2014
Andy Warhol trail, Slovakia: Tales of the Unexpected

The angular façade of the former communist hall of culture is painted in bold colours, vertical stripes of burgundy, ochre and dusty blue echoing the surrounding Slovak countryside on an autumn morning.

The Guardian
04/06/2014
Riga, a city revelling in its culture

In central Riga, people are laying flowers beneath the Freedom Monument. It's a green statue of a woman holding three gold stars on top of a 42-metre stone pillar at the end of a broad, busy street. One woman explains to me that it's the 65th anniversary of the day in 1949 when 42,000 Latvians were deported to Siberia by the Soviet government.

the Guardian
01/05/2015
World Winter Swimming Championships: cold, tough - but what a buzz

"Take off your clothes," a foreign voice said over the loudspeaker - slowly, rhythmically, emphasising each syllable. "Get into the water." It was not the kind of voice you disobey. So although I was on the Arctic circle, surrounded by ice and snow on all sides, I got in.

Sunday Telegraph
05/19/2015
St Kitts and Nevis: Just me, the sea, and the scenery

I couldn't see them, but there were almost 200 people joining me in this venture, now in its 12th year. Kitted out in yellow or green caps, we were swimming between the islands which, though technically one country, proudly maintain distinct identities.

Arts and culture

Museums Journal
09/01/2020
Running Late

Capital projects | The pandemic has led to delayed openings and spiralling costs across the UK

ArtsProfessional
08/08/2019
Who gets ACE funding? Diversity data reveals surprising trends

Arts organisations led by BME and disabled people were less likely than other organisations to be successful when applying for Arts Council England's (ACE) National Lottery Project Grants last year, figures obtained by ArtsProfessional reveal.

ArtsProfessional
04/18/2019
100 arts managers share £10m

The 100 top executives at major arts institutions in England and Wales earn pay packages totalling over £10m a year, AP has discovered.