The popular culture of agricultural law reform

This paper applies a reading of the wider theoretical understanding of rura l restructuring to the reform of agricultural holdings legislation over the last century. In charting the shifting legal basis of agricultural tenanci es in England and Wales, from 'black letter' positivism to a more cultural form and system of regulation, the paper theorises that the underlying poli tical imperative has been allied to the changing significance of property o wnership and use. Rather than reflecting a longterm desire to maintain the let sector in British agriculture, however, the paper argues that this proc ess has had other aims. In particular, it has been about an annexation of l aw to legitimise the retention of landowner power while presenting a 'democ ratisation' of farming, away from its plutocratic associations and towards a new narrative of 'depersonalised' business. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd . All rights reserved.