Regulation Theory and the British State: The Case of the Urban Development Corporation

This book is an evaluation of the political impact on the Urban Development Corporation and draws on research which was undertaken in three of the UDC areas. It places the UDC within the context of the dramatic transformation in state institutions and processes which have taken place during the last 15 years. It suggests that UDC's are part of an experimental ensemble designed to test new state forms within the context of significant changes to the global accumulation process. It argues that these new state forms are consistent with a departure from the state regulatory framework which has charaterised Keynesian state policies in the local government arena throughout the post war period (Fordism) and that the impetus for their creation arises from the crisis in the Keynesian state form. The author suggests that the success of the UDC and in turn different responses according to class and class fraction positions in the locality are mediated principally by the local government framework of the area. The attempt by Thatcherism to create a "hegemonic" concept of control has therefore been somewhat uneven.