Local government and politics in Britain

This introductory textbook provides an overview of the development, structure and role of local government in Britain today. John Kingdom begins by looking at the nature of local government, the concept of elected local authority and the legal status and power of local government. He goes on to examine the origins and evolution of local government; the social context of local government in Britain today; what local government does; the administrative context of local government; the area division of power and area reform; local elections; the role of councillors and local bureaucracy; finance and centralized-localized political relations. In concluding his survey, the author takes a wider look at more general theories of local government, appraises the British experience in the 1980s and looks ahead to the prospects for the future.