Joined-Up Government for Local and Regional Institutions

Joined-up government seems to be able to present itself in various forms of being understood in several ways. It is therefore subject to various interpretations and divergent views. Some contend that joined-up government is inherently centralizing hence it is disadvantageous for the devolved units of the government, some on the other hand argue that joined-up government is not essentially centralizing. This chapter evaluates New Labour's initial efforts at stimulating joining-up at the local level by detailing the rise of the multitude partnership bodies since New Labour rose into power. The chapter also discusses the top-down-driven policy style that New Labour adopted in their efforts for partnerships. This style caused chaotic repercussions in the local and regional governance. Discussed as well in the chapter are the ways in which New Labour tried to localize joined-up government. The first method was the premise of adopting autonomy for the local government to pursue community leadership at the local level while the second method proposed earned autonomy or constrained discretion wherein the local government can lead and yet be under the guidance of the central government. Both of these models of governance are considered here to determine whether they can be institutionalized. The last section of the chapter presents a discussion on the seemingly centralizing nature of joined-up government.