Janice Morphet and Ben Clifford
- Published in print:
- 2020
- Published Online:
- May 2021
- ISBN:
- 9781447355748
- eISBN:
- 9781447355779
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Policy Press
- DOI:
- 10.1332/policypress/9781447355748.003.0004
- Subject:
- Political Science, Political Theory
This chapter deals with the application of austerity since 2010 as a political act designed to transform the way in which local authorities in the United Kingdom operate and are funded. It explains ...
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This chapter deals with the application of austerity since 2010 as a political act designed to transform the way in which local authorities in the United Kingdom operate and are funded. It explains how the local authorities have been dependent on government funding as the UK is considered as one of the most centralised states in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). It also recounts how the UK government in 2010 decided that the Revenue Support Grant (RSG) funding paid to councils would be removed through annual tapering to zero by 2020. The chapter probes the intention of the UK government to replace RSG with each of the council's retention of 75 per cent of the local business rates. It analyses the system of local government funding that operated until local government reorganisation in 1974.Less
This chapter deals with the application of austerity since 2010 as a political act designed to transform the way in which local authorities in the United Kingdom operate and are funded. It explains how the local authorities have been dependent on government funding as the UK is considered as one of the most centralised states in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). It also recounts how the UK government in 2010 decided that the Revenue Support Grant (RSG) funding paid to councils would be removed through annual tapering to zero by 2020. The chapter probes the intention of the UK government to replace RSG with each of the council's retention of 75 per cent of the local business rates. It analyses the system of local government funding that operated until local government reorganisation in 1974.
Brian Woodall
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- September 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780813145013
- eISBN:
- 9780813145327
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University Press of Kentucky
- DOI:
- 10.5810/kentucky/9780813145013.003.0006
- Subject:
- Political Science, Democratization
This chapter examines transformations wrought during the era of coalition cabinets. With the end of LDP hegemony, the already difficult task of providing tactical direction to government policy was ...
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This chapter examines transformations wrought during the era of coalition cabinets. With the end of LDP hegemony, the already difficult task of providing tactical direction to government policy was exacerbated by the challenge of maintaining unity in cabinets composed of ministers from multiple parties. The eight-party coalition that formed the first non-LDP government in nearly four decades made good on a promise to enact political reform by establishing a system for electing lower house MPs. Yet even after the LDP reassumed the executive helm – albeit in coalition governments – pressure for reform continued. As a result of the efforts of a series of governments, a fundamental reorganization of government organs was carried out in 2001, resulting in the establishment of a Cabinet Office and other reforms. And yet this institutional upheaval did not give birth to cabinet government. On the contrary, this period saw the rise of disjoined cabinets that failed to restore economic growth or to effectively respond to policy challenges. As Prime Minister Koizumi and his cabinet learned through their hard-won battle to privatize postal services, it is exceedingly difficult to provide executive leadership in a fragmented policymaking landscape dominated by powerful subgovernments.Less
This chapter examines transformations wrought during the era of coalition cabinets. With the end of LDP hegemony, the already difficult task of providing tactical direction to government policy was exacerbated by the challenge of maintaining unity in cabinets composed of ministers from multiple parties. The eight-party coalition that formed the first non-LDP government in nearly four decades made good on a promise to enact political reform by establishing a system for electing lower house MPs. Yet even after the LDP reassumed the executive helm – albeit in coalition governments – pressure for reform continued. As a result of the efforts of a series of governments, a fundamental reorganization of government organs was carried out in 2001, resulting in the establishment of a Cabinet Office and other reforms. And yet this institutional upheaval did not give birth to cabinet government. On the contrary, this period saw the rise of disjoined cabinets that failed to restore economic growth or to effectively respond to policy challenges. As Prime Minister Koizumi and his cabinet learned through their hard-won battle to privatize postal services, it is exceedingly difficult to provide executive leadership in a fragmented policymaking landscape dominated by powerful subgovernments.
