RESTRUCTURING LOCAL-GOVERNMENT IN HAMPSHIRE - A CASE OF MISTAKEN COMMUNITY IDENTITY

This article examines the impact of the idea of community identity upo n the Local Government Review in England. It considers the extent to w hich the notion of community identity was built into the Local Governm ent Review nationally and, moreover, locally in Hampshire, and the ext ent to which it shaped the outcomes of the Local Government Review. Th ree conceptions of community identity are examined - affective, effect ive and deliberative community identity - and their interplay assessed in shaping the process of restructuring local government. The article argues that the issue of community identity figured prominently in th e early stages of the Local Government Review, but faded away as it go t caught up with the political machinations of central government, loc al authorities and political parties.