LOCAL EN GRANDE-BRETAGNE

Local government in Britain has undergone a profound change over the last quarter-century. This paper presents an exploration of some aspects of that change and reflects on the impact on local democracy. It takes as a point of reference the city of Sheffield as a case that is typical of trends generally within Britain in spite of having some very specific characteristics. The paper concentrates particularly on the new forms of governance that have emerged in the period, and notes the ways in which the traditional system of local government has responded. However, before embarking on an analysis of the current state of local governance in Britain, the paper first defines some of the characteristics of local government in Britain and then charts the chronology of change in the past 25 years