THE CHANGING STATE OF LOCAL-GOVERNMENT - RESTRUCTURING FOR THE 1990S

In the recent past, local government has largely been analysed as if its very existence were in danger from centrally inspired legislative reforms and financial controls. Such a starting point may make it more difficult to assess the changes which are taking place and which are likely to dominate in the 1990s. Three other possibilities are considered here. The first, is the notion of an ‘enabling’ authority; the second, the possibility of a shift towards post‐Fordist local government; and the third, the possibility of more corporatist or neo‐corporatist forms of politics at local level. It is suggested that the third is the most helpful approach for understanding the likely direction of change in the 1990s, and argued that changes within local government have to be understood in the context of wider restructuring of the UK state. Copyright © 1991, Wiley Blackwell. All rights reserved