ABSTRACT
Under both Labour and Conservative Governments, the 1960s and the early 1970s had seen major reforms and reorganisation of central and local government, affecting the civil service, the pattern of Whitehall ministries, the organisation and functions of local authorities, and local councils’ management structures. However, the reform impetus slackened and was lost under the 1974-9 Labour Governments. In Whitehall, Labour had to its credit the establishment of the Number 10 Policy Unit advising the Prime Minister and the introduction of ministerial political advisers, but its record in other respects (e.g. on the freedom of information issue) was disappointing and served only to fuel criticism and pressures for reform. Central and local government co-existed without severe conflicts in these years, but – against a background of economic crisis – the issues of local government spending and of central controls over local finance and local policies began to surface, and the first steps were taken towards greater control by Whitehall. After 1979 the institutions and personnel of central and local government were on the receiving end of much more radical, determined and intrusive reforming policies and actions than anything the 1974-9 Labour Governments envisaged or attempted.
