Colin Copus’s research while affiliated with De Montfort University and other places

Local Action Groups (LAGs) are seen as an integral part in the development of rural economies across the EU. They are a strong network of interaction between the local state and society. Yet what is unclear is the extent to which LAGs operate in a similar manner across different countries. Their remit is detailed clearly through the EU; their activities and operations, however, may differ significantly. For example, in some countries LAGs operate beyond the rural environment. This chapter explores the diversity and uniformity of the LAGs included in the survey, to assess the self-perceptions of their role and importance to civil society.KeywordsLocal Action Groups (LAGs)AutonomyRelevanceNetworksGovernance

Introduction Local government in England is an outlier when it comes to size (Baldersheim and Rose 2010; Swianiewicz, 2010; Denters et al, 2014). Yet, amalgamations are far from finished in England and this chapter will explore how a policy narrative has been developed articulating the need for the ever-increasing size of English local government – a narrative which is shared between central and local government. While it is the centre that takes the formal decision about council mergers, the process is easier if some local government political elites share a policy narrative with the centre that extols the virtues of larger local government and fewer councils. The council size debate reflects a series of assumptions about the purpose of local government (Bulpitt, 1983; Stewart, 1983 and 2003; Chandler, 2007; Copus et al, 2017) and the last wholesale reorganization in 1972 created councils which reflected those assumptions but not necessarily recognizable communities of place (John and Copus, 2011). Since the 1972 reorganization, subsequent governments have been shy of further massive territorial upheaval, preferring to cajole and convince local government into mergers through the creation of a policy narrative based on a folklore like belief in the efficacy of larger local government (Copus et al, 2017). Drew et al (2019) point out the dearth of scholarly activity exploring the nature of the arguments that are employed by proponents and opponents of municipal mergers to convince the public of the rightness of their cause. They employ a rhetorical analysis to examine the efficacy of those arguments which display the ‘dreadful consequences’ that could occur from failure to amalgamate or from amalgamation. In this chapter, we take a different approach to analyzing the arguments, preferring to employ the notion of policy narratives (explained in section two) particularly as politicians in England need care little about convincing the public, who will only nominally be consulted in the process and have no real say, such as via a referendum, on amalgamations. The audience that needs convincing, in the English case, are councillors, council leaders and chief executives who can be convinced to assess the world in the same way as the centre through a stabilizing general policy narrative (Jones et al, 2014).

This book provides a comprehensive coverage of current challenges to the very essence of local self- government. Authors from different European countries present a picture of the current situation and of the future developments laying ahead of us. Europe provides an extremely diverse ground for Local Government studies: modes of governance, the position of the leader, reform intensity, emphasis on democratic forms of governance – all these aspects pose a very vivid and dynamic picture. At the same time, Local Governments in Europe face common challenges, like climate change, increasing populism, and democratic deficit. This volume aims to answer the diversity and communalities between these country-specific features. It is a comprehensive volume gathering the most classical research perspectives in the studies of European territorial (mainly local) government and presenting both new research approaches as well as new trends. The main set of topics include local territorial reforms, local leadership and democracy, and local finances. The authors represent the leading Local Government researchers in Europe, including a strong representation of Eastern European Countries.

As a creature of Statute, English local government is subject to change imposed by central government, much of which comes from the need to respond to two competing factors: technocracy and democracy. In all major re-organisations of local government attempts to find a structural fit between these two mutually antagonistic factors have seen the latter lose out to the former. But to be able to merge councils with relative ease the government needs to frame an argument that expresses a logic for amalgamations. That narrative, which is being performed by the government during a current proposed local government reorganisation, is also reflected among some councillors and local political elites who by adopting the narrative and objectives of the centre are complicit in the ever-increasing size of English local government. The paper explores that narrative and the consequences of the framing of the debate for English local government.

The chapter explores the complex networks of local state-society relationships in England. After providing necessary contextual background the chapter explores local state-society relationships by examining: Local Action Groups (LAGs) established under the European Union’s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and which are also part of the European network for rural development, and the 38 Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) across England, formed by central government to shape relationships between local government, private business and voluntary groups in fostering economic development with their areas. The chapter elaborates the diversity of structure, practice and legal requirement shaping local state-society relationships which produce numerous patterns of interaction and activity and discusses this as a commonplace feature of the environment within which English local government operates.