Conviction Politics Research Articles

Conviction politics and the public service

It is more common than it used to be, in both local and central government, for politicians to seek to make radical policy changes. Rather than resisting them, the administrative machine should be adapted to serve them better and at the same time protect the interests of public servants.

The privatisation of British Telecom: a case study of the extended process of legislation

Abstract. One of the main ingredients in discourse about British politics concerns the extent to which, and under what conditions, central government can get its own way. Since 1979, the country has been ruled by a prime minister and a government placing at least rhetorical emphasis on the ‘politics of conviction’. At the same time we have a well established academic literature giving emphasis to the various hurdles in the policy‐making process which face even a government with a working parliamentary majority. The purpose of this paper is to trace the steps in the process towards the government achieving one of its manifesto commitments; the sale of 51 per cent of British Telecom shares to the private sector. In so doing, it is intended to analyse this example of the policy process in terms of the predominant British policy style.

Reviews

Book reviewed in this article: Reviews A Mamist view of education Does Education Matter? Brian Simon. Whirling words A Feminist Dictionary, compiled by Cheris Kramarae and Paula A. Treichler. Language and conviction Politics needs literature, Duke Maskell.