Brendan Evans – författare

East Manchester has been the site of one of the most substantial regeneration projects internationally. The initiative in east Manchester confirmed the tag that the city is the ‘regeneration capital’ of the United Kingdom.While the book focuses on a single project, it has wider relevance to national and international regeneration initiatives. The book assesses the outcomes of the regeneration, although it demonstrates the difficulties in producing a definitive evaluation. It has a political focus and illuminates and challenges many assumptions underpinning three major current academic debates: governance, participatory democracy and ideology.The book is relevant to students of politics, geography, sociology, public administration and recent history but will also interest practitioners, academics and general readers interested in urban regeneration. Mancunians will also be fascinated by the rapidly changing face and character of their city as will those with an interest in Manchester’s football, the Commonwealth Games and Sportcity.

This study places Thatcherism within the context of Conservative Party history and the developments of British politics. It explores the forces which account for Thatcher's emergence as a Tory leader in 1975, her caution as Leader of the Opposition until 1979 and her growing confidence and resulting domination of the British political scene until her downfall in 1990. After explaining her demise, the book examines the extent to which "Majorism" continued the Thatcherite project, in order to determine whether her impace is enduring. The book addresses such questions as whether Thatcherism is a distinct idealogical phemonemon in the party's history, and whether the ideological course of her governments was charted before she came to power. Was she the begetter of a new doctrine? Why was she electorally successful? Which is the most convincing explanation of the content of the Thatcher governement policies and to what degree did she reflect international developments? It goes on to look at the causes of her political demise and her political aftermath in the following years.

First published in 1987, Radical Adult Education examines the critical relationship between politics and adult education, exploring how public policy shapes educational opportunities for adults. It traces the evolution of adult education from voluntary sector origins to substantial state involvement following World War I.The book critically analyzes both conservative and radical approaches, highlighting the tension between reformers who view education as a catalyst for social transformation and pragmatists advocating incremental change within existing systems. Through detailed theoretical analysis and empirical evidence, particularly examining developments during and after Thatcher’s government post-1979, the author demonstrates how policy-making processes inherently favour gradual rather than revolutionary transformation.Rather than advocating for demands that policymakers might dismiss, the volume argues for strategic political engagement as the most effective approach for practitioners. Covering topics from government policy communities to institutional changes and peak organisations, this book reveals the political realities that determine how adult education develops and the constraints educators must navigate to achieve meaningful progress.

East Manchester has been the site of one of the most substantial regeneration projects internationally. The initiative in east Manchester confirmed the tag that the city is the ‘regeneration capital’ of the United Kingdom.While the book focuses on a single project, it has wider relevance to national and international regeneration initiatives. The book assesses the outcomes of the regeneration, although it demonstrates the difficulties in producing a definitive evaluation. It has a political focus and illuminates and challenges many assumptions underpinning three major current academic debates: governance, participatory democracy and ideology.The book is relevant to students of politics, geography, sociology, public administration and recent history but will also interest practitioners, academics and general readers interested in urban regeneration. Mancunians will also be fascinated by the rapidly changing face and character of their city as will those with an interest in Manchester’s football, the Commonwealth Games and Sportcity.

Greater Manchester and Liverpool were among the first areas of England to undergo urban devolution. Under the leadership of metro-mayors Andy Burnham and Steve Rotheram, they were in the forefront of attempts to ‘level up’ the north and to address the problem of regional inequalities. This book looks at how the metro-mayors evolved their office, examining the fields of economic development, transport, skills, health, housing and spatial reform and the environment. In the case of Greater Manchester, it also explores health and the reform of public services. Addressing the crucial issues of power, resources, partnerships, central-local relations and local democracy, the book concludes with an assessment of the future prospects for a deeper and more fundamental change in the character of the English state.