CentreHouse Press
CentreHouse Press is an independent UK publisher.
View Rights PortalLocal government in the UK is in crisis. It is now neither local in terms of the geography and populations of its principle units, nor does it truly govern in these areas. As this book reveals, over the previous 200 years local government has moved from a system in which local interests held governance over localities to one in which central government and national and multi-national agencies such as corporate businesses hold governance over local and community decision-making. These changes seriously undermine the important role that local government can play in liberal democracy in the UK. The book explains the nature of local government today and asks if there is any possibility of change.
Local government today provides a comprehensive analysis of the structure, finance, management and democratic framework for local government in Britain. This new edition has been substantially rewritten to encompass the many changes to the structure and function of the system since 2000, including developments flowing from the 2007 Local Government Act. The study discusses how, during the Blair years, local governments came to be seen once again as centrally important institutions within Britain's political system. However, they are not seen as organisations that can function as separate agencies, undertaking all their duties 'in-house'. They are now required to work in partnership with the private, public and voluntary sectors to deliver local services and represent local interests. It is further argued that, for the first time in over a century, the barriers between civil servants and senior local government officers are being eroded as central government begins to incorporate leading local government officials into its decision-making processes. This established textbook also offers a comparative focus by showing how the British system differs from the structures for local governance in Western Europe and the United States. ;
This book offers a comprehensive study of racialisation of Romani communities in Europe (and beyond). Drawing on the idea of unbelonging it demonstrates how Romani communities are placed in a position of visceral visibility by local, national and international institutions as well as public media discourses. It shows how such positionality impacts the ability of Roma to self-represent politically and build capacity for change. From the position of unbelonging the book offers an account of Romani agency which both challenges the mainstream representations of Roma but also develops an alternative none-nation-state sense of belonging. In doing so the book outlines an account of Romani alternative expressions in order to take control of their relationship with their own history, future, knowledge, and identity, and the rest of the society.
This book about the Thatcher government and the City of London tells the compelling human story of the people and processes that made Britain's 1980s financial revolution. Fusing insider testimony with new archival discoveries, it examines high stakes and networked solutions, and uncovers new objectives that drove reforms. In so doing it demystifies a major shift in capitalism. This has implications for our understandings of government and capitalism, from the way we think about the origins of subsequent financial crises to today's growing inequalities. Survival Capitalism offers new insights into the last major restructuring of the City, disrupts myths surrounding the logics of the market, and pays attention to people and processes at a time when the City of London again faces major change as Britain seeks to find its place outside the European Union in the wake of Brexit.
The term 'conversation' is one of today's jargon terms. This book explores in depth what conversation means in national terms. Its premise is that to be English is to participate in a conversation about the country's history, politics, culture and society. The conversation changes, of course, but there is also continuity which illustrates a distinct tradition. It is a conversation, the book argues, which requires the plural notion of these Englands rather than the singularity of this England. Englishness, then, is the tone, register and idiom of it subject matters, its anxieties and certainties, differences and commonalities. The book explores the English conversation through historical, political, literary and popular voices and tries to identify the character of contemporary Englishness.
During the 1990s, the structure of local government in Scotland and Wales was completely reorganised by Acts of Parliament. Under other legislation, and in response to recommendations from the Local Government Commission, there was a partial reorganisation in shire England. This is the only study which examines these reforms in one volume. Running through this study is the contrast between the rhetoric used to justify replacing counties and districts by new unitary authorities and the realities of local government. The book reviews the reasons for the reforms, the processes and outcomes in the three countries, and the nature of the evidence which was available for the advantages and disadvantages of reorganisation. Two chapters compare the prior assessments with the actuality, and the final chapter discusses some important lessons for national governance. This is the only study written by someone who was directly involved in the structural review, as a member of the Local Government Commission, and it combines this special experience with a wealth of information from many sources. The book will be a key text for teachers and students of local government and also important for those studying public administration, government and politics at the second or third year undergraduate level. There should also be a wide readership in local government circles and among MPs and those concerned with public life. ;
This book is a study of the ambitions, activities and achievements of Methodist missionaries in northern Burma from 1887-1966 and the expulsion of the last missionaries by Ne Win. The story is told through painstaking original research in archives which contain thousands of hitherto unpublished documents and eyewitness accounts meticulously recorded by the Methodist missionaries. This accessible study constitutes a significant contribution to a very little-known area of missionary history. Leigh pulls together the themes of conflict, politics and proselytisation in to a fascinating study of great breadth. The historical nuances of the relationship between religion and governance in Burma are traced in an accessible style. This book will appeal to those teaching or studying colonial and postcolonial history, Burmese politics, and the history of missionary work.
Understanding US/UK government and politics is written specifically for A2 students and covers the comparative dimension of advanced level study. It closely follows the syllabuses of the main examination boards, is car and accessible in style, and offers invaluable insights into the similarities and differences between British and American politics. The book examines the setting against which government and politics operates in the two countries, explores the concept of political culture and examines the underlying ideas and values of British and American people, before considering the executive, legislative and judicial branches of government in detail. Political parties, the media and elections, pressure groups and voting are all extensively covered, with some concluding thoughts on the current condition of democracy in Britain and the United States. This new edition has been updated to take account of all the changes that have taken place in British and American politics since the first edition was published, including the escalation of the War on Terror, the specific terrorist threats carried out in the UK, and the underwhelming re-election of George W Bush and Tony Blair.
The political theory of the Irish Constitution considers Irish constitutional law and the Irish constitutional tradition from the perspective of Republican theory. It analyses the central devices and doctrines of the Irish Constitution - popular sovereignty, constitutional rights and judicial review - in light of Republican concepts of citizenship and civic virtue. The Constitution, it will argue, can be understood as a framework for promoting popular participation in government as much as a mechanism for protecting individual liberties. It will be of interest to students and researchers in Irish politics, political theory and constitutional law, and to all those interested in political reform and public philosophy in Ireland.
This book offers the first account of what the First Minister, Peter Robinson, describes as the most settled period of devolution in Northern Ireland for almost forty years. It traces the tortuous path to devolved government, the political instability which constantly threatened the institutions, and since May 2007 the bedding down of devolution and its impact so far on the people of Northern Ireland. The book parallels accounts of devolved government in Scotland and Wales. For years Northern Ireland has been the subject of academic enquiry relating to political, constitutional and security issues. Now as a post-conflict society political parties which for years engaged in the politics of antagonism must now redirect their efforts to delivering public policies that will improve the quality of people's daily lives. This has not come easily to them. This book is therefore the first study which looks at devolved power sharing governance arrangements in Northern Ireland and a sequel to Derek Birrell's book Direct Rule and the Governance of Northern Ireland. Manchester: Manchester University Press (2009) The book contains chapters on the key governance institutions: the civil service, local government, non-departmental public bodies, and the vibrant third sector in Northern Ireland. It examines in some detail the major review of public administration ongoing since 2002 and the more recent public services modernising agenda. Importantly, given the sectarian divisions which have segregated every aspect of life in Northern Ireland, the book asks the key question whether it is possible to reconcile the two communities or are they destined to live 'separate but equal' lives. Finally, the book considers topical issues which are at the early stages of implementation: community planning and central-local relations. This book will be of interest to students of devolution across the UK and beyond. It will also be relevant for those researchers working in the area of post-conflict societies. ;
This is the first comprehensive textbook on the market to cover the A/S level politics syllabuses offered by the main examination boards.. Written in clear, accessible, easy to understand language, with checklists, bullet points, chapter summaries, boxes and charts, revision notes and sample examination questions, as well as further sources of information, in both written form and on the web, this is the perfect information source for students preparing for the A/S level politics examination.. The book starts by giving a basic introduction to politics including a definition of what politics is, the nature of government and the basic concepts of politics and political action.. It goes on to deal with popular participation, including democracy, elections, the electoral system and referendums, political parties including their role and functions, ideologies, theories and traditions of UK parties, the current state of the parties with regard to policy, and the work of parties at local, national and European level. ;
This important book reassesses a defining historical, political and ideological moment in contemporary history: the 1989 revolutions in central and eastern Europe. Adopting a multi-disciplinary approach, the authors reconsider such crucial themes as the broader historical significance of the 1989 events, the complex interaction between external and internal factors in the origins and outcomes of the revolutions, the impact of the 'Gorbachev phenomenon', the West and the end of the Cold War, the political and socio-economic determinants of the revolutionary processes in Poland, Hungary, the German Democratic Republic, Czechoslovakia, Romania and Bulgaria, and the competing academic, cultural and ideological perceptions of the year 1989 as communism gave way to post-communist pluralism in the 1990s and beyond. Concluding that the contentious term 'revolution' is indeed apt for the momentous developments in eastern Europe in 1989, this book will be essential reading for undergraduates, postgraduates and specialists alike. ;
How do parties adopt and change positions on the European question? How do they balance the demands placed upon them by ideology, voters and participation in coalition government? What are the sources of Euroscepticism, and how widespread is it among the parties and the public? This book addresses these questions by examining the politics of Hungary's accession to the European Union, from the early 1990s to 2004. The book provides a conceptually grounded yet accessible analysis of the way questions related to EU membership, and European integration in general, are channelled into political life. Starting with a comparative exploration of the impact of European integration on party politics in Western and Eastern Europe, the book goes on to review the Hungarian political parties' history, ideological profiles, electoral competition and coalition-building in government and opposition, as well as the dynamics of public opinion. It will be of interest to academics concerned with the contestation of European integration in EU member states, and specifically with party politics in Central and Eastern European. ;