ABSTRACT
In contrast to the great seriousness with which periodic demands for Scottish and Welsh devolution have generally been treated, English regionalism was once famously described as the ‘dog that never barked’ (Harvie 1991). However, evidence of developments in the politics and administration of the English regions during the first half of the 1990s suggested that this relative evaluation was no longer entirely appropriate. In this period certain underlying economic, political and administrative developments led to new forms of regional governance. This development was often linked closely to the particular policies of the Major governments (see Chapters 7 and 8), but it was also related increasingly to approaches in sub-national government, involving central and local government and other key institutional players working together through various forms of partnership and network. Furthermore, it can be argued that a great deal of common ground across the political divide was established in respect of the practice of English regionalism. As a result, it was evident that such trends towards regional governance were likely to persist irrespective of the prevailing political philosophy at the centre.
