What Is Local Government For?: Refocusing Local Governance to Meet the Challenges of the 21st Century

Abstract

Since the North East voted ‘No’ to an elected regional assembly, devolution in England has gone back to the drawing board. New Localism has not gone away. Yet for people in England to be convinced of the value of power being devolved to their communities, they need a local governance system that delivers something other than the ‘same again’ style politics that often passes them by. They need to feel confident that the local institutions they elect really do control what truly matters locally – transport and mobility, employability, crime and safety, management of the environment, healthy lifestyles, and community cohesion. What is local government for? offers a model of local governance in England that meets the challenges of the 21st Century. The author, local government expert Professor Gerry Stoker does so by reconsidering the purposes, functions and powers of local government, complete with new structures of governance at the strategic and neighbourhood levels. In doing so, he provides a way forward to a more accountable and engaging system of local politics

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