Government Beyond the Centre: Sub-National Politics in Britain PDF
Preview Government Beyond the Centre: Sub-National Politics in Britain
~ GBC lulu! ----------· ·----------- GOVERNMENT BEYOND THE CENTRE SERIES EDITOR: GERRY STOKER The world of sub-central government and administration - includ ing local authorities, quasi-governmental bodies and the agencies of public-private partnerships - has seen massive changes in recent years and is at the heart of the current restructuring of government in the United Kingdom and other Western democracies. The intention of the Government Beyond the Centre series is to bring the study of this often-neglected world into the mainstream of social science research, applying the spotlight of critical analysis to what has traditionally been the preserve of institutional public administration approaches. Its focus is on the agenda of change currently being faced by sub-central government, the economic, political and ideological forces that underlie it, and the structures of power and influence that are emerging. Its objective is to provide up-to-date and informative accounts of the new forms of government, manage ment and administration that are emerging. The series will be of interest to students and practitioners of politics, public and social administration, and all those interested in the reshaping of the governmental institutions which have a daily and major impact on our lives. ~ GBC lulu I ------------' '------------ GOVERNMENT BEYOND THE CENTRE SERIES EDITOR: GERRY STOKER Published Wendy Ball and John Solomos (eds) Race and Local Politics Richard Batley and Gerry Stoker (eds) Local Government in Europe Clive Gray Government Beyond the Centre John Gyford Citizens, Consumers and Councils Yvonne Rydin The British Planning System John Stewart and Gerry Stoker (eds) The Future of Local Government David Wilson and Chris Game (with Steve Leach and Gerry Stoker) Local Government in the United Kingdom Forthcoming Richard Kerley Managing in Local Government Steve Leach, John Stewart and Kieron Walsh The Changing Organisation and Management of Local Government Series Standing Order If you would like to receive future titles in this series as they are published, you can make use of our standing order facility. To place a standing order please contact your bookseller or, in case of difficulty, write to us at the address below with your name and address and the name of the series. Please state with which title you wish to begin your standing order. (If you live outside the UK we may not have the rights for your area, in which case we will forward your order to the publisher concerned.) Standing Order Service, Macmillan Distribution Ltd, Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire, RG21 2XS, England Government Beyond the Centre Sub-National Politics in Britain Clive Gray M MACMILLAN © Clive Gray 1994 All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication may be made without written permission. No paragraph of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted save with written permission or in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, or under the terms of any licence permitting limited copying issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency, 90 Tottenham Court Road, London WIP 9HE. Any person who does any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages. First published 1994 by THE MACMILLAN PRESS LTD Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 2XS and London Companies and representatives throughout the world ISBN 978-0-333-55558-3 ISBN 978-1-349-23280-2 (eBook) DOI 10.1007/978-1-349-23280-2 A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. Copy-edited and typeset by Povey-Edmondson Okehampton and Rochdale, England To Chrissie and Caitlin Contents List of Tables x Acknowledgements xii Introduction 1 First words 1 Sub-national government in Britain 2 Government and administration beyond the centre 3 The importance of sub-national government 5 British sub-national government in comparative perspective 8 Conclusion 10 1 The Local Governments of Britain 12 Introduction 12 The territorial dimension 12 The functional dimension 14 The organisational dimension 16 Variations on a theme 34 Conclusion 36 2 Themes and Issues in Sub-National Government 38 Introduction 38 Life beyond the centre 38 Themes and issues in sub-national government 41 Politics beyond the centre 45 Sub-national government in context 49 Conclusion 50 3 The Changing System and the Conservative 'Revolution' 51 Introduction 51 The growth of the system 52 Vll Vlll Contents 'Thatcherism' and sub-national government 55 The Conservative approach to sub-national government 57 The control of sub-national government 59 Accountability and sub-national government 64 Participation in sub-national government 67 Finance and sub-national government 69 Management and sub-national government 73 The politics of sub-national government 76 Conclusion 77 4 Sub-National Government: The Concerns of the Centre 79 Introduction 79 Factors influencing the centre 79 Structural factors 80 Procedural factors 86 The goals of the centre 91 Conclusion 93 5 Policy-Making in Sub-National Government 94 Introduction 94 Models of the policy-making process 94 Pluralism 96 Neo-pluralism 98 Elitism 104 Neo-elitism 105 Corporatism II 0 The changing system 114 Conclusion: assessing the models 116 6 Policy Networks and Sub-National Government 120 Introduction 120 Inter-governmental relations and policy networks 121 The changing system 126 The politics of policy networks 130 Conclusion 132 7 Re-Making Policy Networks: Three Case-Studies 134 Introduction 134 Support for the arts 135 Contents ix Care in the community 140 Urban re-development and inner cities 146 Conclusion 152 8 Theoretical Perspectives 155 Introduction 155 Pluralism and sub-national government 156 Marxism and sub-national government 162 The new right and sub-national government 168 Weberian theory and sub-national government 173 Conclusion 179 9 Conclusion: The Future of Government Beyond the Centre 182 Introduction 182 The shape of things to come? 183 Sub-national government in Britain and Europe 187 The future of government beyond the centre 191 A Guide to Further Reading 196 References 198 Index 212 List of Tables 1.1 Public expenditure 1989/90 in sub-national government 6 1.2 Public sector employment 1989/90 7 1.1 The local government system 17 1.2 The National Health Service system 18 1.3 The outposts of the centre system 19 1.4 The quango system 23 1.5 Organisational differences in sub-national government 33 5.1 Models of the policy-making process 95 5.2 Criteria for assessing models of policy-making 117 6.1 Characteristics of policy networks 122 X
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