The depths of the cuts: The uneven geography of local government austerity
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Authors
Gray, M
Barford, A
Publication Date
2018Journal Title
Cambridge Journal of Regions, Economy and Society
ISSN
1752-1378
Publisher
Oxford University Press (OUP)
Volume
11
Issue
3
Pages
541-563
Type
Article
Metadata
Show full item recordCitation
Gray, M., & Barford, A. (2018). The depths of the cuts: The uneven geography of local government austerity. Cambridge Journal of Regions, Economy and Society, 11 (3), 541-563. https://doi.org/10.1093/cjres/rsy019
Abstract
Austerity, the sustained and widespread cuts to government budgets, has characterised Britain’s public policy since 2010. The local state has undergone substantial restructuring, driven by major budget reductions from central government. Hitherto, few studies of austerity in the UK have considered the interplay of national and local policies. We contribute a fine-grained spatial analysis of local authority budgets, highlighting their socioeconomically- and geographically-uneven impacts. We identify substantial variations between authorities in terms of funding, local tax-base, fiscal resources, assets, political control, service-need and demographics. We argue that austerity has actively reshaped the relationship between central and local government in Britain, shrinking the capacity of the local state, increasing inequality between local governments, and exacerbating territorial injustice.
Sponsorship
Cambridge Political Economy Society Trust
British Academy
Funder references
British Academy (SG150251)
ESRC (ES/M500409/1)
Identifiers
External DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/cjres/rsy019
This record's URL: https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/handle/1810/284729
Rights
Licence:
http://www.rioxx.net/licenses/all-rights-reserved
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