https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1448-9383
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ABSTRACT
This paper analyses the localism agenda pursued in the UK since 2010 through the lens of governmentality. It examines how the state has deployed spatially based technologies of government predicated on particular political rationalities of localism that seek to orchestrate the ‘conduct of conduct’. The paper combats two oversights within the governmentality literature: first, the tendency to focus on the abstract, neglecting the messiness of actual attempts to govern; and second, the paucity of empirical studies of governmental technologies that fall short of realigning subjects’ agency towards governmental goals – despite a long-standing recognition of the incomplete and often contradictory nature of governmental rationalities. Through an empirical exploration of local actors’ experiences of Neighbourhood Planning – a community-led, land-use-planning initiative – this paper addresses these shortcomings by demonstrating how fundamental misconceptions contained within contemporary political rationalities have undermined efforts to realign community agency toward housing delivery. In concluding, it is argued that the tensions and fault-lines found within these rationalities go some way to explaining the emergence of ‘interstitial spaces of hope’ for genuine community agency within the confines of gradually tightening governmentalities.
DISCLOSURE STATEMENT
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
Notes
1 Localism has developed differently in the constituent countries of the UK. Localist initiatives play out within particular state–society relations, creating significant differentiation in institutional governance arrangements and associated executive, legislative and financial powers (Pemberton, Citation2017). This paper focuses specifically on England as the only part of the UK where Neighbourhood Planning is available to communities.
2 A key concept in Foucault’s writing from the mid-1970s onwards, dispositif (commonly translated as ‘apparatus’) denotes ‘a thoroughly heterogeneous ensemble consisting of discourses, institutions, architectural forms, regulatory decisions, laws, administrative measures, scientific statements, philosophical, moral and philanthropic propositions – in short, the said as much as the unsaid. Such are the elements of the apparatus. The apparatus itself is the system of relations that can be established between these elements’ (Foucault, Citation1977, p. 194). It is arguable whether the translation ‘apparatus’ sufficiently captures dispositif as a particular kind of (normalizing) force that permeates our ‘customs, habits, ways of acting and thinking’ (Foucault, Citation1991, p. 93). Nonetheless, in light of the empirical components of the paper, the discussion here follows Rose's focus on how in order to become governmental, rationalities (or ‘styles of thought’) must become technical, that is, be linked to governmental technologies (Miller & Rose, Citation1990; Rose, Citation2017).
3 Decentralization was one of three strands to the Big Society agenda – alongside increased social action and ‘opening up’ public services. It was also the most durable and led to the 2011 Localism Act, whilst the Big Society was slowly dropped from the political lexicon.
4 Neighbourhood Planning encapsulated Neighbourhood Development Plans, Neighbourhood Development Orders and Community Right to Build Orders. The focus here is on the Neighbourhood Development Plans (or simply Neighbourhood Plans) as the most comprehensive by far the most popular tool available.
5 DCLG was renamed the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) in January 2018 by then Prime Minister Theresa May to reflect a renewed political emphasis on housing.
6 Co-production is a contested term that continues to generate a wealth of research literature, including a consistent critique of whether ‘genuine’ co-production is possible given inherent asymmetries of power. It is broadly defined here as a process by which different actors use each other’s resources to create a mutually desired output involving processes of reciprocal learning and understanding (Parker et al., Citation2017, p. 453). For a more detailed discussion, see Watson (Citation2014).
7 The CIL rate is set by each charging authority, allowing LAs to raise funds to help deliver infrastructure to support the development of the area. CIL receipts are passed straight to parish and town councils where development has taken place; however, in the case of Neighbourhood Forums, the CIL is retained by the charging authority and spent in consultation with the Forum. By setting competitive rates, LAs can attract new developments. Further inducements made to LAs to deliver growth include the New Homes Bonus (where central government matches council tax receipts raised from new homes for a period of six years) and reforms designed to allow LAs to retain 100% of Business Rates collected locally.
8 A process that allows for the creation, grouping/de-grouping, or abolition of town and parish councils. The process may be brought about the principal authority or by communities via a petition.