Britain's `5 percent' local government revolution : the faltering impact of New Labour's modernization agenda
By: GAME, Chris
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ArticlePublisher: London : Sage Publication, 2002International Review of Administrative Sciences 68, 3, p. 405-417Abstract: Tony Blair's New Labour Party came to power in 1997 committed to `moderninzing' and rejuvenating a local government system that it considered had been weakned and emasclated by the Thatcher and Major Conservative governments. Written immediately following Labour's ovewhelming re-election in June 2001, this article is an interim review of some of the key policies in the governemtn's modernization agenda for local government. The first sections deal with the indisputably radical political management reforms imposed on local councils and the attempt to introduce, for the first time in UK local government, directly elected executive mayors. Later sections focus on the replacement of compulsory competitive tendering with a `best value' service regime, and the governemtn's more hesitant approach to finance reform. The overall conclusion off the rview is that in all three policy spheres, though in differing ways, the government has so far fallen short of its ambitious and radical rhetoric. The idea of elected mayors is enthusing neither the public nor elected councillors. Best value is seen as excessively bureaucratic, prescriptive and centralist. And modest reform proposals leave largely unaddressed the most serious financial weaknesses of UK local authorities
| Item type | Current location | Collection | Call number | Status | Date due | Barcode |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Periódico | Biblioteca Graciliano Ramos | Periódico | Not for loan |
Tony Blair's New Labour Party came to power in 1997 committed to `moderninzing' and rejuvenating a local government system that it considered had been weakned and emasclated by the Thatcher and Major Conservative governments. Written immediately following Labour's ovewhelming re-election in June 2001, this article is an interim review of some of the key policies in the governemtn's modernization agenda for local government. The first sections deal with the indisputably radical political management reforms imposed on local councils and the attempt to introduce, for the first time in UK local government, directly elected executive mayors. Later sections focus on the replacement of compulsory competitive tendering with a `best value' service regime, and the governemtn's more hesitant approach to finance reform. The overall conclusion off the rview is that in all three policy spheres, though in differing ways, the government has so far fallen short of its ambitious and radical rhetoric. The idea of elected mayors is enthusing neither the public nor elected councillors. Best value is seen as excessively bureaucratic, prescriptive and centralist. And modest reform proposals leave largely unaddressed the most serious financial weaknesses of UK local authorities
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