State modernisation and local strategic selectivity after Local Agenda 21: evidence from three northern English localities

Abstract

English Over the last decade all English local authorities have developed strategies for a sustainable local environment in line with Local Agenda 21 (LA21) principles. Under New Labour, local government is being modernised, creating opportunities to advance LA21 from process to strategy. The article examines local environmental governance after LA21 in three local authority areas in northern England: Manchester, Leeds and Lancashire. Drawing on neo-Gramscian state theory and its concept of the spatial selectivity of the national state, emphasis is placed on an actual local politics of environmental policy making vis-à-vis the ideal of ecological modernisation. Local environmental strategies are not only linked to changing national priorities but also reflect the particular economic, environmental and political challenges impacting on decision making in each locality. The concept of local state strategic selectivity is proposed.

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