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BL
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| Record Number
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949908
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| Doc. No
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b704278
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| Main Entry
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Foster, Christopher D.
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| Title & Author
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British government in crisis, or, The third English revolution /\ Christopher Foster.
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| Publication Statement
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Oxford ;Portland, Or. :: Hart,, 2005.
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| Page. NO
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1 online resource (325 pages)
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| ISBN
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1280808004
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: 147255969X
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: 1847310575
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: 6610808007
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: 9781280808005
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: 9781472559692
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: 9781847310576
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: 9786610808007
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1841135496
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9781841135496
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| Bibliographies/Indexes
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Includes bibliographical references (pages 301-311) and index.
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| Contents
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Preliminaries; Contents; Introduction What Has Gone Wrong; 1 Parliament; 2 The Constitution Acquires a Third Element The Civil Service; 3 Decision Making The Exercise of Ministerial Power; 4 Laws That Work; 5 Cabinet Tries to Cope; 6 Overload and Gridlock The Old Regime's Decline; 7 Margaret Thatcher; 8 The Poll Tax; 9 Major The Counter Revolution That Failed; 10 The House of Commons Less Representative Less Effective; 11 The Spread of Grass Roots Anarchy; 12 Blair's Cabinet Monarchy Returns; 13 The Excesses of News Management; 14 Ministers Diminished Standing.
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15 Civil Service End of Northcote Trevelyan16 Nadir of Government The Railways; 17 Summarising the Revolution; 18 Resilience or a Third Presidency; 19 A More Legal Constitution; 20 Restoration; Conclusion Where Do We Go From Here; Appendix The Author's Relevant Experience; Bibliography; Index.
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| Abstract
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Why are we badly governed? Why has a system of government - the envy of the world as recently as the 1970s - developed so many defects? Why is there such a gulf between political classes, who seem to believe the position satisfactory or inevitable, and the general public, increasingly disaffected by politics and government? This book argues that the defects are not attributable to one political party. Some factors are outside politicians' control: the globalization of economic activity; the changes in international politics after the end of Soviet Russia; the adverse consequences of more dominating and competitive media. Some other factors are widely recognized: the decline of the cabinet and the marginalizing of Parliament; the influence of spin on our political culture; the increased role of political and special advisers. But others are not as well understood. Among them are the decline in the authority of many ministers, the undermining of the constitutional position and consequent effectiveness of the civil service, the fragmentation of government and the public sector into a mass of bodies with complex but ill-defined relations between them, and the ramifying of a system of government which, despite its protestations, is less interested in delivering results than managing news. The book traces these developments, especially over the last 25 years, but most intensively since 1997. It looks to a major change in the ways of government. It doubts whether a change of prime minister or party would remove current defects. It considers other possible alternatives, particularly a constitutional change to a 'presidential' system of government, or the introduction of a legal constitution. It concludes by arguing that, although venturing in new and untried directions might seem attractive, improvement - radical improvement - of the system we have is more likely to achieve better government and restore public confidence.
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| Subject
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Great Britain-- Politics and government-- 1979-1997.
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Great Britain-- Politics and government-- 1997-
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POLITICAL SCIENCE-- Political Process-- General.
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Politics and government
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Politisches System.
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Politisches Verhalten.
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Regierungskrise.
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Great Britain, Politics and government, 1979-1997.
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Great Britain, Politics and government, 1997-
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Great Britain.
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Großbritannien.
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| Subject
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Verenigd Koninkrijk van Groot-Brittannië en Noord-Ierland.
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| Dewey Classification
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320.941
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| LC Classification
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JN231.F68 2005
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| Parallel Title
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British government in crisis
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: Third English revolution
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