The Constitution Unit, University College, London, An Assembly For Wales – Senedd I Cymru
| Author | Dylan Griffiths |
| Date | 01 September 1998 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1111/1467-9299.00123 |
| Published date | 01 September 1998 |
594 REVIEWS
ment is concerned, but also highlights the fact that even the arrogant believe that local govern-
ment is important, and perhaps that some of the Thatcher changes went too far! Pratchett and
Wingfield contribute an essay on the changing public service ethos as represented by local
government officers. They draw on some good survey evidence to show that it is changing,
but perhaps less quickly than some might think. Here one would raise the question of the
symbolic nature of the changes – not all chief executives, for example, are true New Public
Managers, but they can all speak the jargon. Chris Game and Steve Leach usefully update
party politics in local government, and their suggestion that parties, whilst remaining domi-
nant, are challenged both by new social movements and by new devices used by local auth-
orities for testing public opinion (referenda, user surveys, citizen polls, etc.) is an interesting
one. They also show clearly the growing tendency for no party to win control of councils:
hung councils increased from 25% in 1986 to 35% in 1995 . . . though Labour victories in
subsequent years will have reversed that picture somewhat. Greer and Hoggett consider local
quangos, covering a number of points, including the increased networking at local level
between these local agencies. Finally, Hilary Kitchin examines the idea of introducing a general
competence power for British local government – something more commonly found in other
European countries such as Germany, France and Scandinavia – though here the real compari-
son is perhaps with Scandinavia. She also reviews the ‘free commune’ experiment in Scandina-
via – more a process of administrative deregulation than a genuine exercise in localdemocracy.
The editors provide a good introduction and concluding summary to the pieces, without
doing much to disturb the overall thrust of the collection. Why then is this reviewer only
moderately enthusiastic about the book, even though the text is eminently suitable for student
use? Partly it might be because there is an implicit assumption that local government is a
good thing because it is either a) inherently democratic or b) more democratic than other
forms of government. Partly it is because although a contributor to the Redefining Local Democ-
racy collection, I do believe that book addresses issues of local democracy rather better than
does this book: it largely avoids equating the two and is clearer on some of the conceptual
issues involved. Partly it is because I saw the pieces in their original format from the Com-
mission for Local Democracy. But then it is important to keep on telling people that local
government matters because it can help enhance the quality of democracy in a society; to
highlight some of the current deficiencies, and perhaps begin to change some attitudes,
especially amongst those at the centre in Whitehall and Westminster – after all, to paraphrase
something Jim Sharpe once said to me a long time ago about local government reform – we
might know that change is necessary, but we have to go on telling people it is until they
believe it as well. In this context Pratchett and Wilson have done most of us, practitioners
and academics, as well as our students, a service in putting together this collection.
Mike Goldsmith
University of Salford
AN ASSEMBLY FOR WALES – SENEDD I CYMRU
The Constitution Unit
University College London, 1996. 172 pp. £10
The Constitution Unit was a research project, established in 1995 to conduct an independent
inquiry into the implementation of constitutional reform. This report into ‘An Assembly for
Wales’ is one of three reports, published simultaneously, which examine the case for devol-
ution for Scotland, Wales and the English regions. The report is not another partisan document
extolling the virtues or denigrating the deficiencies of the principle of devolution. Instead it
describes itself as a ‘technical inquiry into the implementation of constitutional reform, aiming
Blackwell Publishers Ltd. 1998
To continue reading
Request your trial