Local Government Reform in Great Britain Dr Helen Sullivan…英国地方政府改革博士.pdfVIP

Local Government Reform in Great Britain Dr Helen Sullivan, University of the West of England, UK Paper for the Joint International Conference of the International Political Science Associations Research Committee 05 on the Comparative Study of Local Politics and Government and the German Political Science Association Workgroup, Local Government Studies, Reforming Local Government: Closing the Gap Between Democracy and Efficiency, 25-27 September 2002 Introduction Local government remains in a state of flux in Great Britain. Currently being modernised by the New Labour Government, it has been subject to radical programmes of reform for most of the last twenty years. This paper will describe and analyse those programmes of reform focusing attention on the kinds of reform strategy that have been introduced, the goals of those reform strategies (legitimacy, efficiency and effectiveness) and their consequences for localities. The paper will consider the Conservative Governments programmes of reform (1979- 1997) and the New Labour Governments programme (1997-) separately and then draw together and discuss the key themes and the continuities/differences in strategy employed in the two periods. Finally the paper will consider the impact of contextual and structural factors on central governments capacity to deliver reform, paying particular attention to the fact that Britain has no codified constitution. Before describing and examining the respective reform strategies the paper will provide a brief overview of the development of local government in Great Britain. Development of local government in Great Britain The principle of elected local self government was not established in Great Britain until the Municipal Corporations Act (1835) which set up 78-multi purpose elected local authorities. However these bodies had limited powers and were also limited in their operation of democracy, elected as they were by a franchise of male ratepa