ABSTRACT
This chapter provides a general introduction to understanding the policy process and then focuses on sports policy in the UK. It starts with a simple outline of the key stages in public policy as depicted in mainstream policy texts. It then explains the nature of major political ideological traditions that have shaped both government policy and policy institutions in the post-war years in the UK. The final section concludes with a case study of youth sports policy to illustrate how political traditions provide both continuity and change in the policy process.
