ABSTRACT
This chapter seeks to evaluate the impact of the apparently contradictory pressures on local government and shows that they simultaneously both created opportunities and imposed restrictions on the capacity of local government to affect the national agenda setting process. It focuses on the limitations and constraints on local authorities within the sector. The chapter argues that while enabling legislation presented local authorities with the tools for action, they lacked the political will to take the risks associated with implementing policies such as road pricing, even on an experimental basis. It suggests that the Major government was in fact concerned to use the introduction of enabling legislation primarily as a tool to manage the policy agenda, deflecting the problem away from central government. The chapter also argues that R. A. W. Rhodes' analysis is important for its emphasis on the complexity of central-local relations and the consequent recognition of local government's ability to influence the agenda in this area.
