Exploring the political potential of the local state: building a dialogue with Sheffield in the 1980s

Beveridge, R. and Cochrane, A. (2023) Exploring the political potential of the local state: building a dialogue with Sheffield in the 1980s. Antipode: A Radical Journal of Geography, 55(3), pp. 790-809. (doi: 10.1111/anti.12908)

Abstract

This article explores the political potential of the local state through an engagement with the case of Sheffield City Council in the 1980s. The new municipalism movement has generated renewed interest in the “local” and “urban” as transformative projects. The local state holds a pivotal if problematic role in these debates, often seen as the decisive force facilitating or impeding transformation. In building a dialogue with 1980s Sheffield, we provide a less certain account of the local state's potential. Sheffield occupies an ambiguous position within and beyond traditional municipal labourism and therefore provides a potent example to explore tensions within municipalism between state and autonomist visions of politics. In Sheffield, radical intent turned into a more cautious governmental programme in the city, notwithstanding glimpses of political alternatives. The experience of those years provides insights on the contingencies of bringing movements and state politics together in what was then called “local socialism”.

• Item Type: Articles
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Beveridge, Dr Ross
• Authors: Beveridge, R., and Cochrane, A.
• College/School: College of Social Sciences > School of Social and Political Sciences > Urban Studies
• Journal Name: Antipode: A Radical Journal of Geography
• Publisher: Wiley
• ISSN: 0066-4812
• ISSN (Online): 1467-8330
• Published Online: 08 January 2023
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2023 The Authors
• First Published: First published in Antipode: A Radical Journal of Geography 55(3):790-809
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced under a Creative Commons license