Regional policy-making in Conservative England (2010-2019): the role of institutional and political factors

保守英格兰的区域政策制定（2010-2019）：制度和政治因素的作用

• 批准号: 2436191
• 金额: --
• 依托单位: University of York
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Studentship
• 财政年份: 2020
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2020 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=studentship-2436191
• 关键词: Regional; policy; making; Conservative; England

This research sets out to examine the policy process of developing and implementing regional policies in Conservative England between 2010 and 2019. Historically, regional policy in the UK has been closely aligned with the objective of boosting economic output in areas with consistently sub-average levels of productivity. However, such initiatives are rarely undertaken with the sole objective of unlocking spare capacity. As the distance widens between stronger and weaker geographies, it is argued this has both economic and social implications for disparities within the UK, ranging from job prospects to educational opportunity and health outcomes. Moreover, these disparities are politically significant due to their inevitable effect on the electoral landscape. Despite a variety of regional policy interventions during the decade, Britain's economy remains persistently reliant on London and the South East driving growth and providing a fiscal surplus. In the 2019 British General Election, the Conservative party made 'levelling-up' a central theme of their successful campaign, thereby ironically alluding to the failure of previous Conservative ministries to adequately address the issue.Analysis of how regional policies between 2010 and 2019 have failed to address systemic imbalances in the economy are well rehearsed; but far less so, why this is the case. This research aims to advance our understanding on why regional policy was largely ineffective during this period by studying institutional and political factors. The research will focus on three key aspects of regional policy during the period: the creation and establishment of Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) in 2011; the launch of the 'Northern Powerhouse' in 2014; and the shift in regional policy characterised by the 'Industrial Strategy' under Theresa May in 2016. The project is inherently interdisciplinary, drawing on economic analysis, historical method and political science. Given the spatial context of the research, it is also fundamentally geographical in its significance. The research approach will be mixed-method. It will primarily apply qualitative methods but will also use quantitative research methods.This research is important for a number of reasons. First, it will provide important analysis on understanding how a range of institutional factors and political actors affect regional policy. The relevance of findings will extend beyond merely the period considered. It will shed light on how central Government is influenced, and by what, when both formulating and co-ordinating regional policy interventions. This is particularly pertinent given widening economic and social disparity within the country amidst the coronavirus pandemic. Further regional interventions and industrial strategies are likely in the coming decade in light of this. The implications from this research will therefore be significant. Second, analysis of regional policy interventions between 2010-19, the Northern Powerhouse and Industrial Strategy have tended to focus on economic shortcomings ahead of historical analysis exploring the reasons for policy failure. This research will bring new understanding to the role of institutions and party political pressures, in the form of elections and ideologies, on why regional interventions have failed to revert the trend of widening economic disparity. Third, the paper will extend historical thinking on the role of politically appointed special advisors in the formulation of economic policy, chiefly by focussing on Rupert Harrison during Cameron's first ministry, and Nick Timothy during May's first ministry. In addition to being of interest for a range of academic fields (Public Policy, Political History, Economics, Geography), this research will be of use to practitioners and policy-makers, particular LEPs and central Government.

这项研究旨在研究2010年至2019年之间保守派英格兰制定和实施区域政策的政策过程。从历史上看，英国的区域政策一直紧密地与促进持续低于均衡生产率水平的领域的经济产出密切相关。但是，这种举措很少以解锁备用能力的唯一目标进行。随着强大和较弱的地理位置之间的距离扩大，这对英国内部差异具有经济和社会影响，从工作前景到教育机会和健康成果。此外，由于它们对选举格局的不可避免的影响，这些差异在政治上是显着的。尽管在这十年中采取了各种区域政策干预措施，但英国的经济仍然持续依赖伦敦和东南驱动增长并提供财政盈余。在2019年英国大选中，保守党将“左旋”党成为他们成功竞选的中心主题，因此具有讽刺意味的是，以前保守派部委无法充分解决该问题的失败。2010年至2019年之间的地区政策如何解决经济中的系统性失衡如何得到很好的重新培训；但是要少得多，为什么是这种情况。这项研究旨在通过研究机构和政治因素来促进我们对为什么区域政策在很大程度上无效的理解。该研究将重点介绍该期间区域政策的三个关键方面：2011年创建和建立本地企业合作伙伴关系（LEPS）； 2014年推出“北强大”；以及2016年特蕾莎（Theresa May）下的“工业战略”的区域政策的转变。该项目固有地是跨学科的，借鉴了经济分析，历史方法和政治学。鉴于研究的空间背景，它的重要性也从根本上是地理上的。研究方法将是混合方法。它将主要采用定性方法，但也将使用定量研究方法。这项研究的重要原因很重要。首先，它将提供有关了解一系列制度因素和政治参与者如何影响区域政策的重要分析。调查结果的相关性将超出所考虑的时期。它将阐明中央政府如何受到影响，以及在制定和协调区域政策干预措施时。鉴于冠状病毒大流行中的国家经济和社会差异的扩大，这尤其相关。鉴于此，可能在未来十年中可能采取进一步的区域干预措施和工业策略。因此，这项研究的含义将是重要的。其次，对2010 - 19年间区域政策干预措施的分析，北方强国和工业战略倾向于将重点放在历史分析之前的经济缺陷上，以探讨政策失败的原因。这项研究将以选举和意识形态的形式对机构和政党政治压力的作用有了新的了解，即为什么区域干预措施未能恢复扩大经济差异的趋势。第三，本文将对政治任命的特别顾问在制定经济政策中的作用的历史思考，主要是通过关注卡梅隆第一任工期间的鲁珀特·哈里森（Rupert Harrison），以及尼克·蒂莫西（Nick Timothy）在五月的第一个事工期间。除了对一系列学术领域（公共政策，政治历史，经济学，地理）感兴趣之外，这项研究还将用于从业者和政策制定者，特定的LEP和中央政府。