Local Government and Urban Politics

Description

Local government remains one of the most lively and contentious areas of political affairs. Interventions by .central government together with the radical responses by some local authorities, particularly as a result of the poll tax, have .ensured that issues of local government stay in the forefront of public debate.'In the second edition of this highly respected text, William Hampton addresses the most recent developments both in the practice and in the literature of local government. Fully revised and updated, Local Government-and Urban Politics provides a straightforward and accessible account of the workings of the British local government system. It discusses such crucial topics as the structure, services, organisation and finance of local government; local councillors, pressure groups and trade unions; the national local government system and central-local relations; and the local economy* Each of these is put in both a theoretical and political context. Students and practitioners of local government, indeed anyone interested in contemporary politics, will welcome this concise and helpful book. Professor William Hampton teaches at the University .of Sheffield where he has been both Chairman of the Division of Continuing Education and Dean of the Faculty of Educational Studies. His previous publications include Democracy and Community (Oxford University Press, 1970); Public Participation in Local Services (Longman, 1982) and Local Democracies (Longman Cheshire. 1983).