Introduction

‘New Labour’, as part of its democratic renewal and modernisation agendas, has championed new and different forms of decision making in public services. In local government this change can be construed as a shift in emphasis away from representative democracy towards partnership and participatory decision making. New Labour has encouraged the active involvement of citizens in their communities. For their part, local authorities are developing new approaches and structures to facilitate such engagement.

Local government, as in other areas of public policy, is also undergoing a new phase of reshaping and redefinition. There has been a shift in emphasis from hierarchies, to markets and now to partnership. This current emphasis on local authority partnerships has a number of strands – with other parts of the public sector, with the private and voluntary sectors, and with citizens and communities. This chapter is concerned with partnerships between local authorities and their citizens and communities.

The chapter explores New Labour's democratic renewal agenda and its application to local government, before moving on to consider partnership and participation. It then examines examples of partnership being developed by a local authority, Birmingham City Council, particularly emphasising governance partnerships at the ward level. In analysing Birmingham's approach, the way in which this authority is utilising its version of partnership is questioned. In particular, it identifies and analyses concerns that relate to the representativeness, social inclusion, accountability and utility of these governance partnerships. The chapter's conclusions seek to draw out implications for the wider local government community.

Democratic renewal

Recent years have seen a loss of confidence in democratic structures and ideals. “Even the most democratic countries are not democratic enough” (Giddens, 2001, p 6). As Giddens (1998, p 2) had stated earlier, “Political ideas today seem to have lost their capacity to inspire and political leaders their ability to lead”. In particular, representative democracy is seen as insufficiently responsive and representative. Criticism has pointed to, among other things, low electoral turnout, particularly at local elections (Blair, 1998, p 14). Much of local government is viewed as unresponsive and living in the past, with a feeling that many ‘rotten boroughs’ in which ‘one-party states’ operate still persist. The quality of local services is often seen as leaving something to be desired and a further sign of the democratic state's malaise.