Abstract
This paper traces the history of local government in England (as opposed to the United Kingdom) since the early nineteenth century, and explores five long-term trends in its evolution. These are path dependence; the occurrence of major structural change; the phenomenon of policy reversal; the treatment of urban areas; and resistance to regional government. The author concludes that throughout the period under study, policy towards local government has exhibited a ‘pendulum effect’, with two opposing emphases operating in a sequential, rather than a simultaneous manner.
Highlights
Over the last 75 years, popular interest and participation in local government in England have waned
The present form of local government in England first came into existence in urban areas, to secure improvements in such areas as public safety, the protection of property, and the prevention of disease
The unitary authority Following the 1972 Act, those local authorities which had been county boroughs found themselves demoted to lower-tier districts, lacking responsibility and freedom of manoeuvre in important areas of policy-making
Summary
Over the last 75 years, popular interest and participation in local government in England have waned. The Local Government Act of 1972 The responses of the two major political parties to the report of the Royal Commission (1969a) were different.
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