U.S.-style leadership for english local government?

Hambleton, Robin; Sweeting, David

Abstract

Significant changes in the political management of local authorities in the United Kingdom are now taking place as a result of legislation passed by the Labour government since 1997. The new political management models aim to modernize local governance by strengthening local leadership, streamlining decision making, and enhancing local accountability. These changes owe much to U.S. experience: They involve the introduction of a separation of powers between an executive and an assembly, and they allow local authorities to introduce directly elected mayors for the first time ever. Is U.K. local government beginning to adopt what might be described as U.S.-style approaches to local governance? The evidence suggests the new institutional designs for U.K. local authorities represent a radical shift toward U.S.-style local leadership and decision making. However, the U.K. central state remains heavily involved in the details of local decision making, to an extent that would be unthinkable in the United States.

• Journal Article Type: Review
• Publication Date: Jul 1, 2004
• Deposit Date: Jan 22, 2010
• Journal: Public Administration Review
• Print ISSN: 0033-3352
• Electronic ISSN: 1540-6210
• Publisher: Wiley
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 64
• Issue: 4
• Pages: 474-488
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-6210.2004.00393.x
• Keywords: U.S.-style leadership, English local government
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/1059087
• Publisher URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-6210.2004.00393.x
• Additional Information: Additional Information : Lead author. Based on the ESRC research project 'Leadership in urban governance: the mobilisation of collaborative advantage' (grant ref: L130 25 1031).
• Contract Date: Jul 31, 2016