Spatially specific Urban economic development programmes in Britain since 1979

The explosion of new public programmes purporting to deal with the problems of urban economic decline, and the attendant creation and adaptation of institutional arrangements as vehicles for programme delivery has been a significant, and arguably paradoxical, feature of the post‐1979 period in Britain. This article, concentrating on the central government role, attempts to identify the factors which have contributed to policy development and the key themes characterising the post‐1979 approach before arguing that an appreciation of the limits to central control is crucial to understanding the nature and pattern of the specific programmes which have emerged.