Leadership, Politics and Accountability: G.W. Jones' Contribution to Local Government
| Published date | 01 October 2003 |
| DOI | 10.1177/095207670301800406 |
| Date | 01 October 2003 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
Leadership,
Politics
and
Accountability:
G.W.
Jones'
Contribution
to
Local
Government
Kester
Isaac-Henry
University
of
Central
England
Abstract
In
response
to
the
PAC's
project
on
Volumes
of
Influence
(referring
to
the
contribution
made
by
political
scientists
to
the
study
and
development
of
public
policy/public
administration)
this
article
attempts
to
evaluate
the
influence
of
G.
W.
Jones'
contribution
to
local
government
over
the
last
thirty
years
or
so.
It
analyses
his
groundbreaking
works
on
the
development
and
importance
of
party
politics
in
Wolverhampton
(Borough
Politics,
1969)
and
on
political
leadership
and
the
developing
political
processes
in
the
'running'
of
London
under
Herbert
Morrison
(Herbert
Morrison:
Portrait
of
a
Politician,
973).
It
also
attempts
to
evaluate
Jones'
contribution
to
the
defence
of
local
government
over
this
period.
The
article
suggests
that
Jones
led
a
crusade
for
over
30
years
on
behalf
of
local
government
for
its
political
processes
to
be
understood
and
valued.
In
so
doing
he
challenged
conventional
wisdom
on
the
role
of
local
political
parties
and
political
leadership
as
well
as
helped
to
set
the
agenda
for
study
and
research
into
these
areas.
Recent
developments,
relating
to
the
importance
of
the
political
processes
in
local
government
(e.g.
Widdicombe
Committee)
and
the
emergence
of
a
cabinet
or
mayoral
government,
have
vindicated
Jones'
views
on
these
issues.
Local
government
is
no
passing
luxury.
It
should
be
a
guardian
of
fundamental
values
(Jones
and
Stewart,
1983,
p.5).
Introduction
Until
the
1970s,
local
government
could
have
been
said
to
be
the
Cinderella
of
the
politics
subjects,
circumscribed
by
the
fact
that
much
of
its
teaching
and
literature
lacked
any
political
dimension
and
was
concerned
mainly
with
the
legal
and
administrative
aspects
(Gyford,
p.1).
The
last
30
years
have
witnessed
a
major
change
and
local
government
can
now
be
rightly
be
Public
Policy
and
Administration
Volume
18
No.
4
Winter
2003
80
regarded
as
being
at
the
front
of
the
political
stage
and
in
the
mainstream
of
academic
research
and
interests.
There
are,
amongst
others,
two
main
reasons
for
this.
First,
many
changes
have
occurred
in
local
government
during
this
period
which
have
not
only
altered
its
structures
but
also
its
nature.
At
the
same
time,
these
changes
were
generally
resisted
and
had
to
be
justified
by
government
and
ministers,
thus
bringing
local
government
more
into
the
limelight.
Second,
an
increasing
number
of
academics
have
now
congregated
at
the
local
government
end
of
politics,
partly
as
a
result
of
changes
mentioned
above,
who
has
sought
to
understand,
explain
and
defend
that
institution,
with
the
result
that
there
has
been
an
heightened
interest
in
the
field.
Foremost
amongst
these
academic,
has
been
Professor
George
Jones.
It
is
his
influence
on
local
government
that
this
article
will
be
examining.
George
Jones
has
been
at
the
London
School
of
Economics
since
1966,
first
as
lecturer,
then
as
a
professor
from
1976
and
is
now
an
Emeritus
Professor of
that
institution.
His
contribution
to
the
field
of
public policy
is
extensive.
He
has
researched
and
written
widely
on
local
government;
the
power
of
Prime
Ministers
and
on
their
advisory
networks;
Parliamentary
accountability
and
the
British
Constitution.
However
this
paper
will
concentrate
on
evaluating
his
influence
on
the
study,
development
and
defence
of
local
government.'
It
is
in
this
area
that
Professor
Jones
made
his
first
'big'
impact
in
the
academic
and
the
political
policy
arena
and
the
area
in
which
his
contribution
to
public
administration
has
been
particularly
marked.
This
article
attempts
to
evaluate
the
impact
and
influence
of
Professor
Jones
by
reviewing
and
analysing
his
ground
breaking
seminal
books
on
the
political
processes
and
on
leadership
in
local
government.
It
will
outline
and
evaluate
his
promotion
and
defence
of
local
government
in
the
last
twenty-
five
years
or
so
and
consider
the
indicators
of
his
influence,
past
and
present
in
these
areas.2
It
will
first
focus
on
two
of
Jones'
seminal
works
Borough
Politics
(1969)
and
Herbert
Morrison:
Portrait
of
a
Politician
(1973)3
and
examine
the
concepts
and
ideas
thought
to
be
important
to
the
study,
understanding
and
the
development
of
modern
day
local
government.
These
two
works
do
not
merely
tell
the
story
of
the
development
and
significance
of
local
political
parties,
local
political
processes
and
local
political
leadership
to
the
effectiveness
of
local
government,
but
they
also
stand
as
a
major
contribution
to
the
history
and
development
of
the
Labour
Party.
As
part
of
the
evaluation,
the
article
will
examine
how
two
of
the
major
concepts
examined
in
these
two
works
have
been
developed
to
be
now
part
of
the
mainstream
of
British
local
government.
Borough
Politics
Borough
Politics
published
in
1969
is
the
study
of
the
politics
of
Wolverhampton
Borough
Council
between
1888
and
1964.
Perhaps
the
first
thing
to
say
of
Borough
Politics
is
that
it
demonstrates
the
highest
standard
of
research,
scholarship
and
writing.
One
reviewer
argued
that
if
Public
Policy
and
Administration
Volume
18
No.
4
Winter
2003
81
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