Legality and locality : the role of law in central-local government relations

This book seeks to trace the main dimensions of recent conflicts between central departments of governments and local authorities and to reveal something of their significance. It does so by focusing on the role of law in shaping the central-local government relations which is neglected in many contemporary studies and yet is of vital importance in identifying the character of that relationship. Precisely why they should be so is not self-evident. The main objective of this introduction therefore is to highlight the importance of this dimension to the study of central-local relations and then to explain the way in which the key themes of the study are to be addressed. One highly significant aspect of the study is the identification of a process of juridfication which is only gradually becoming clear. This has not only been a major undertaking, it has also been a highly complex, ambiguous, confusing, and frustrating activity. This has caused problems for government and for the judiciary and not surprisingly there have been expressions of discomfort on all sides. This book helps to explain where the process may have gone wrong and why ultimately it may be an objective which cannot be realised. Ultimately what the book seeks to demonstrate is that the issues raised by the government of central-local relations transcend the institution of local government and are directly linked to our system of parliamentary democracy. Furthermore the author argues that the system of central-local government relations has evolved in such a way that it reveals a great deal about our tradition of public law. An examination of these issues through an explication of the themes of legality and locality therefore requires the reader to address basic questions about the nature of contemporary British government. The contemporary period has been one of intense conflict between central and local government. These disputes have rather complex political and economic origins, many of which have recently been analyzed by social scientists. The legal aspects of these disputes have, however, remained relatively neglected. In this book, the author traces the main dimensions of the recent central-local conflict and highlights the legal issues. The principal theme of the book is that it is only by focusing on the legal dimensions to the central-local government relationship that the constitutional significance of these recent trends may properly be revealed. The author addresses this constitutional question by identifying two basic themes. The theme of locality concerns the importance of local government within British constitutional arrangements. The theme of legality focuses on the traditional relationship between law and government. Through an elaboration of these related themes, the author shows that local authorities emerged in the twentieth century as powerful institutions of governance only at a cost of becoming inextricably bound up in the affairs of the centre. During the century, however, the vital elements of the tradition of local government were continuously respected, in part through the 'shallows and silences' of the law but mainly as a result of certain political understandings which evolved alongside the emergence of this interdependent network of government. Recent conflicts, begin rooted in a disintegration of the political consensus which provided the cement of the system, thus exposed fundamental tensions in the central-local relationship. The resulting 'turn to law' in search of normative guidance has been a complex, uncertain and rather frustrating process. This 'juridification' of the relationship, the author argues, is best understood as a symptom of the deeper-seated problems rather than a solution to current difficulties. This work traces the main dimensions of the relationship between central and local government, concentrating upon the role played by law in shaping that relationship. It demonstrates how the issues raised are linked to the system of parliamentary democracy, and to the tradition of public law.