Title
A critical analysis of conservative government policies (1979 to 1997) and comparison to Labour Government policies (1997-2008) relating to urban residential regeneration.
Abstract
In this paper I intend to examine both conservative and labour government regeneration polices from 1979 to present day, with respect to residential regeneration, specifically in Kensington, Liverpool.
It is my intention to discuss the need for the policies, the objectives of the policies, how successful they have been, lessons learnt from past policies and could the present policies be improved upon.
Aims & Objectives
(a) Overall, the dissertation will seek to provide a critical analysis of Conservative government policies relating to residential area regeneration, (1979-1997), and comparing them with the policies of the Labour government from 1997 to today. In particular, I intend to focus on the effect of these policies in a Liverpool residential area called Kensington.
(b) The dissertation will begin by stating the scope of this study. I will analyse Conservative government policies going back to 1979 when Margaret Thatcher’s government first came to power, at the same time stating what residential area regeneration actually is so as to then better place such policies in their given context.
(c) A key objective will be to discuss what these regeneration policies actually were and how they were implemented and to consider whether they worked, if they succeeded in bringing about effective residential regeneration.
(d) Following on from this aspect of the discussion, I will then look at Labour government policies from 1997. I will compare both governments’ policies, what succeeded in both, what mistakes were made by the conservatives, what mistakes seem to have been made by Labour, and could these have been avoided, and evaluate whether the current government have learnt anything from previous policies developed by the Conservatives.
(e) I will also seek to put the recognition of these current policies into context in terms of the more recent process of ongoing residential regeneration in the Kensington Area of Liverpool.
(f) Then, in conclusion, I will discuss the more successful points of all the policies over the last three decades and explore how these could be improved and implemented for the next generation.
Literature Review
The research will concentrate heavily on the extent of the body of secondary data concerned with government regeneration policies.
The literature review will be structured in two parts;
Part one will be concerned with policies implemented in Thatcher’s reign from 1979 to 1997,
Part two will concentrate on the current Labour government regeneration policies from 1997.
The general method to be used in both the above cases is as follows:
- Firstly, produce a long bibliography of sources of information consisting of general academic literature such as journals, books, websites, government publications and reports. Legal references to be sourced from Westlaw/LexisNexis. Media coverage will be confined to explanatory use to establish the public feeling, sentiment or opinion on a particular issue. The long bibliography will consist in total of about 100 titles, details of which would be included as an appendix only.
- Shortlist the bibliography to the most relevant sources relating to the subject, show an abstract of contents from approx 10 of the most relevant sources, and comment on how relevant the sources are. Of these items an annotated bibliography will be written; i.e. each title would be accompanied by one or two paragraphs (say, 200 words) that provide an abstract of contents and a commentary on its utility and relevance to the subject.
- Finally, there would be a brief review of the state of knowledge and understanding of the subject based on the selected literature, using the literature to discuss the extent of the knowledge on the subject before reaching some overall conclusions.
Example of some sources of information;
Books:
Housing policy and practice, Peter Malpass and Alan Murie
Key issues in housing, Glen Bramley
Lessons for area regeneration from policy development in the 1990s, S Hall and J Mawson
Urban regeneration, property investment and development, J Berry
Urban regeneration through partnership, M Chapman, A Hastings, K Kirk and R Young
Urban regeneration in the UK, Andrew Tallon
Rethinking Urban Competitiveness, Cohesion and Governance
Urban Renaissance: New Labour, Community and Urban Policy, Robert Imrie, Mike Raco
Websites:
http://www.englishpartnerships.co.uk/
http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2004/apr/21/regeneration.communities
http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/server/show/nav.1482
http://www.auditcommission.gov.uk/reports/
http://www.ukwatch.net/article/regeneration_policy
Reports
Liverpool city council publication: The regeneration Portfolios
Methodology
To carry out this study of conservative and labour government policies relating to residential area regeneration, it will be necessary to write the paper under the following primary headings with a view to creating a suitably detailed and in-depth discussion.
Chapter one – Introduction on urban regeneration under Thatcher’s government
Chapter Two – Literature Review
Chapter Three- Methodology
Chapter Four – Outline the conservative government policies for urban regeneration, desktop research on the success of these regeneration policies. Critically analyse these policies
Chapter Five – Outline the labour government policies for urban regeneration, desktop research on the success of these regeneration policies.
Chapter Six – Compare Conservative policies with labour policies.
Chapter Seven – What has been the impact of these policies on the ongoing development of urban regeneration in the Kensington area of Liverpool?
Chapter Eight – Conclusion, an evaluation of past policies of residential regeneration & proposals for reforms
References
Bibliography
Timetable
Literature review March 2009
Analysis of key findings March 2009
Abstract and first draft ready April 2009
Review and finalise April 2009
Final draft April 2009
Hand in 24th April 2009
Research Proposal Conclusion
Having sought to provide a critical analysis of Conservative government policies, (1979-1997) relating to residential area regeneration, the dissertation will seek to put forward that development of effective residential regeneration policies has been somewhat slow.
It will be argued that such policies have not always been top of the agenda for previous governments in view of the significance of other issues relating to the society in which we live that have taken precedence at various times in the last thirty years since Margaret Thatcher’s Conservative government first came to power (e.g. the Falklands).
It will then be shown that residential regeneration remains a significant issue within our society today. It is clear that residential regeneration will be a major factor in the process for society to move forward and expand.
I will aim to prove that
- government policies will need to be more aggressive to improve residential regeneration
- The process must be more direct to produce sustainable results. This could be achieved by focussing efforts on specific problems within a given area, rather than looking to implement a more generic non-specific policy to be used in all areas.