This wide-ranging book sets discussion of the various approaches to local government decentralisation in the context of the changing nature of public service management and the possibilities for new kinds of public involvement in government decision-making. It draws on a wide range of experiences throughout the UK as well as the findings of an in-depth study of the impact of radical decentralisation strategies in two inner London boroughs to provide an authoritative assessment of the politics of decentralisation.

PART 1: THE CONTEXT OF CHANGE
Introduction
The Crisis in Urban Government
Rethinking Local Democracy
The Character of Local Political Innovation
PART 2: DECENTRALISED MANAGEMENT
Introduction
Neighbourhood Decentralisation and the New Public Management
Shaking up the Bureaucracies Lessons From Experience
PART 3: DECENTRALISED DEMOCRACY
Introduction
Enhancing Participatory Democracy: Islington
Extending Representative Democracy: Tower Hamlets Lessons From Experience
PART 4: BEYOND DECENTRALISATION Re-empowering
Local Government Empowering
Communities Local Democracy Beyond the Local State.