Big change, little change? Punctuation, increments and multi-layer institutional change for English local authorities under austerity

ABSTRACT

This paper draws on new institutionalist theories to consider how we might characterise the process and outcomes of change occurring in English local government as a result of the UK’s austerity policies. It uses national and local empirical data to argue that changes are best understood as multi-layer processes, whereby radical ‘punctuated’ shifts in national funding can be mitigated to incremental adjustments in service delivery at a local level. However, the paper also suggests that the incremental appearance of change may be temporary, and that diminishing institutional resilience and emergent discursive shifts potentially prefigure a paradigm change in local governance.

KEYWORDS:

• Local government
• austerity
• new institutionalism
• change
• public administration

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes

1. Revenue spending power represents UK Government’s assessment of funding available to each local authority to spend on core services. It rests on a contested formula, but is recognised by the National Audit Office as the most reliable means for wider financial comparison (NAO 2014b, 24).

2. A 4.75% Council Tax rise which would have triggered a referendum was explored by Brighton and Hove Council in 2014, but eventually rejected by opposition parties. In 2015 the Police and Crime Commissioner in Bedfordshire triggered a local referendum when he proposed a rise of 15.8% in the Council Tax allocated to policing. The proposal was rejected.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the University of Nottingham [collaborative PhD studentship].

Notes on contributors

Alison Gardner

Alison Gardner is a researcher in the School of Politics and International Relations at the University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK, where she obtained a PhD degree, having begun her career as a policy advisor to local authorities, the Local Government Association and the civil service. Her research interests include local responses to austerity, the implications of devolution for local governance and the relationship between civil society and the local state.