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Restructuring Local Government in Hampshire: A Case of Mistaken Community Identity?
Author(s) -
Cope Stephen,
Bailey Mark,
Atkinson Rob
Publication year - 1997
Publication title -
public administration
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.313
H-Index - 93
eISSN - 1467-9299
pISSN - 0033-3298
DOI - 10.1111/1467-9299.00046
Subject(s) - restructuring , identity (music) , politics , local government , government (linguistics) , public administration , political science , central government , sociology , political economy , local community , law , linguistics , philosophy , physics , acoustics
This article examines the impact of the idea of community identity upon the Local Government Review in England. It considers the extent to which the notion of community identity was built into the Local Government Review nationally and, moreover, locally in Hampshire, and the extent to which it shaped the outcomes of the Local Government Review. Three conceptions of community identity are examined ‐ affective, effective and deliberative community identity ‐ and their interplay assessed in shaping the process of restructuring local government. The article argues that the issue of community identity figured prominently in the early stages of the Local Government Review, but faded away as it got caught up with the political machinations of central government, local authorities and political parties.