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Trailblazer devolution deals: he next oxymoron in the policy litany of sub-national governance in England?

Trailblazer devolution deals: he next oxymoron in the policy litany of sub-national governance in England?
Trailblazer devolution deals: he next oxymoron in the policy litany of sub-national governance in England?

Here, we examine the continuing UK centralising trend for local government in England and the effects of changing accountabilities through the pathway of devolution narratives. We set out the key characteristics of policy change since 1992 and then analyse the most recently announced model Trailblazer Devolution Deals (TDD) single settlements for Mayoral Combined Authorities announced in the UK Budget 2023. We consider how far these TDD confer more devolution on CAs through the proposed creation of a single settlement for an integrated budget within the context of two previous government initiatives that were focused on the same approach, Government Offices for the Regions (GoRs) (1994–2010) and Total Place (2009–2011). We consider what occurred in practice and reflect on their demise as examples of institutions established by the UK government’s approach to transitional territorialism. We conclude with the view that these initiatives represent devolution in name only (DINO).

centralising the state, combined authorities, devolution, England, single settlements, trailblazer devolution deals
0269-0942
755-772
Morphet, Janice
fe0aad56-e284-4404-b267-6ec4381e2ba1
Denham, John
9cdb8204-8550-4677-80db-84f35bc7da52
Morphet, Janice
fe0aad56-e284-4404-b267-6ec4381e2ba1
Denham, John
9cdb8204-8550-4677-80db-84f35bc7da52

Morphet, Janice and Denham, John (2024) Trailblazer devolution deals: he next oxymoron in the policy litany of sub-national governance in England? Local Economy, 38 (8), 755-772. (doi:10.1177/02690942241270570).

Record type: Article

Abstract

Here, we examine the continuing UK centralising trend for local government in England and the effects of changing accountabilities through the pathway of devolution narratives. We set out the key characteristics of policy change since 1992 and then analyse the most recently announced model Trailblazer Devolution Deals (TDD) single settlements for Mayoral Combined Authorities announced in the UK Budget 2023. We consider how far these TDD confer more devolution on CAs through the proposed creation of a single settlement for an integrated budget within the context of two previous government initiatives that were focused on the same approach, Government Offices for the Regions (GoRs) (1994–2010) and Total Place (2009–2011). We consider what occurred in practice and reflect on their demise as examples of institutions established by the UK government’s approach to transitional territorialism. We conclude with the view that these initiatives represent devolution in name only (DINO).

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e-pub ahead of print date: 7 August 2024
Additional Information: Publisher Copyright: © The Author(s) 2024.
Keywords: centralising the state, combined authorities, devolution, England, single settlements, trailblazer devolution deals

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Local EPrints ID: 495617
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/495617
ISSN: 0269-0942
PURE UUID: 03e9dce0-ef29-4086-bf2c-3c6da21b89cd

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Date deposited: 19 Nov 2024 17:44
Last modified: 19 Nov 2024 17:44

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Author: Janice Morphet
Author: John Denham

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