This brand new text examines power and inequalities and how these are central to our understanding of how policies are made and implemented. It introduces the concepts and theoretical approaches that underpin the study of the policy process, reflects upon key developments and applies these the practice of policy formulation and implementation.

Scotland has a parliament for the first time in almost 300 years, and this book is an account of how this came about. The authors trace the origins and history of the demand for home rule in Scotland, focusing particularly on developments following the failure of the first referendum on the issue in 1979, which culminated in a second referendum in September 1997.This major political event attracted national and international interest, and its decisive result was a milestone in Scot...

This title was first published in 2000: Drawing on a variety of research, including two surveys of councillors undertaken in Scotland, England and Wales, qualitative interviews and the re-analysis of existing data, this book aims to contribute towards research on local government councillors by exploring and developing the idea of "careers" of elected councillors and by examining their ambitions and the types of posts held during their period of office. In particular, the book examines the...

Focusing on the policy approaches of Conservative governments since 2015, this book examines key social policy areas including education, health, housing, employment, children and young people, and more.Respected social policy researchers explore the degree to which the positions and policies of recent Conservative governments have differed from the previous Coalition government (2010–15). They consider the extent to which austerity has continued and the influence of other policy e...

This thoroughly revised and expanded new edition provides a comprehensive introduction to contemporary social policy and addresses its historical, theoretical and contextual foundations as well as contemporary policy issues relating to health, education and welfare as well as the impact of Brexit.Divided into four parts, it opens with a survey of the socio-economic, political and governmental contexts within which social policy operates, before moving on to look at the historical d...

How did the UK Coalition Government’s policies differ from previous Conservative (or Labour) Government policies? How did the Liberal Democrats influence them? And what can this tell us about the likely policy direction of the Conservative government elected in May 2015?Responding to the political and social policy changes made between 2010-15 this book considers the relationship between the two coalition parties to provide a critical assessment of how their policies affected the B...

With the Conservative Party breaking new ground in forming a coalition government with the Liberal Democrats, this book examines the development and content of the Conservatives' approaches to social policy and how they inform the Coalition's policies.Chapters cover the development of Conservative Party social policy and specific policy areas. The book will be of interest to academics, undergraduate and postgraduate students, and everyone with an interest in the Conservative Party ...