Martin Laffin – författare

An introduction to the main issues in and theoretical perspectives of industrial relations in local government and the public services. The problems of industrial relations are illustrated by case studies of a Thatcherite Conservative and a left-wing Labour Council in Britain.

First published in 1998, this volume has been a significant contribution to current debates over the future of the public services. Professionalism has been and is a major feature of the British welfare state. Yet the political, social and economic context in which the profession emerged and flourished is changing rapidly. The professional ideal of disinterested expertise serving the public interest has lost much of its original gloss. Professional status and careers are threatened by major shifts in the structure of the welfare state which can be summed up as the decline of the big government bureaucratic model. Professions themselves face challenges to their special claims to expertise and public service from: politicians, senior managers, new social movements and pressure groups, technological change and not least from those citizens whom they aspire to serve. This volume asks how these new challenges are changing professions and how professionals themselves are adapting.

First published in 1998, this volume has been a significant contribution to current debates over the future of the public services. Professionalism has been and is a major feature of the British welfare state. Yet the political, social and economic context in which the profession emerged and flourished is changing rapidly. The professional ideal of disinterested expertise serving the public interest has lost much of its original gloss. Professional status and careers are threatened by major shifts in the structure of the welfare state which can be summed up as the decline of the big government bureaucratic model. Professions themselves face challenges to their special claims to expertise and public service from: politicians, senior managers, new social movements and pressure groups, technological change and not least from those citizens whom they aspire to serve. This volume asks how these new challenges are changing professions and how professionals themselves are adapting.

First published in 1998, this volume has been a significant contribution to current debates over the future of the public services. Professionalism has been and is a major feature of the British welfare state. Yet the political, social and economic context in which the profession emerged and flourished is changing rapidly. The professional ideal of disinterested expertise serving the public interest has lost much of its original gloss. Professional status and careers are threatened by major shifts in the structure of the welfare state which can be summed up as the decline of the big government bureaucratic model. Professions themselves face challenges to their special claims to expertise and public service from: politicians, senior managers, new social movements and pressure groups, technological change and not least from those citizens whom they aspire to serve. This volume asks how these new challenges are changing professions and how professionals themselves are adapting.

First published in 1998, this volume has been a significant contribution to current debates over the future of the public services. Professionalism has been and is a major feature of the British welfare state. Yet the political, social and economic context in which the profession emerged and flourished is changing rapidly. The professional ideal of disinterested expertise serving the public interest has lost much of its original gloss. Professional status and careers are threatened by major shifts in the structure of the welfare state which can be summed up as the decline of the big government bureaucratic model. Professions themselves face challenges to their special claims to expertise and public service from: politicians, senior managers, new social movements and pressure groups, technological change and not least from those citizens whom they aspire to serve. This volume asks how these new challenges are changing professions and how professionals themselves are adapting.

An introduction to the main issues in and theoretical perspectives of industrial relations in local government and the public services. The problems of industrial relations are illustrated by case studies of a Thatcherite Conservative and a left-wing Labour Council in Britain.

This open access book assesses the consequences of contemporary economic and political crises for intergovernmental relations in Europe. Focusing on the crises arising from the Covid-19 pandemic, climate change, surges in migration, and the resurgence of regional nationalist movements, it explores the shifting power balances within intergovernmental relations’ systems.  The book takes a comparative analytical perspective on how intergovernmental relations are changing across Europe, and how central governments have responded to coordination challenges as recent crises have disrupted established service delivery chains and their underpinning political and bureaucratic arrangements. It also examines the relationship between recent crises and the sub-national resurgence of territorial politics in many European countries. The book will appeal to those with interests in public administration, sub-national governance and European politics.