Corbett, Colin (2003) The 'politics of metropolitan power', Local Government and the 'politics of support' in Scotland, 1979-1997. PhD thesis, University of Warwick.

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Abstract

This thesis analyses the Conservative Party's electoral demise in Scotland from 1979 to
1997. This subject has already been extensively explored elsewhere. However, whilst
acknowledging the validity and importance of what might be described as the canon of
traditional reasons given for the Party's problems north of the border, this thesis identifies and
explains the importance of a previously undervalued dynamic in the Scottish party political
process.

The central argument of this thesis is that the role of local party politics in Scotland has a
significant impact on General Elections. The hypothesis under consideration is whether the
Conservative Party found it particularly difficult to recover in General Elections subsequent to
notable losses in levels of Local Government representation north of the border. Thus, the more
qualitative aspects ofthis thesis establish why this might have been the case. This extra aspect of
the party political system in Scotland is developed through a series of studies that analyse
primary and secondary sources and the results of an elite and Local Councillor interview
programme. These studies assess what Conservative Governments in London were hoping to
achieve with their policies, how Local Government in Scotland reacted and what effect these
dynamics had on the electorate north of the border.

After a case study on Stirling that examines how the matters in hand impacted upon a
specific community, the Conclusion is then informed by a study of General and Local
Government Election results from across the whole of the UK from 1979-1991. This thesis is not
a comparative study of Local Government in Scotland and England. However, as the results in
Chapter 1 demonstrate, the Conservatives did seem to find it much more difficult to recover from
Local Government representation losses in subsequent General Elections north of the border.
This suggests that the variable under consideration is a significant addition to the canon of
reasons for their electoral demise in Scotland.

Item Type:	Thesis or Dissertation (PhD)
Subjects:	J Political Science > JN Political institutions (Europe) > JN101 Great Britain
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH):	Conservative Party (Great Britain), Scotland -- History -- 20th century, Local government -- Scotland, Scotland -- Politics and government -- 20th century
Official Date:	March 2003
Dates:	Date Event March 2003 Submitted
Institution:	University of Warwick
Theses Department:	Department of Politics and International Studies
Thesis Type:	PhD
Publication Status:	Unpublished
Supervisor(s)/Advisor:	Bulpitt, Jim ; Burnham, Peter ; Baker, David
Extent:	viii, 414 leaves : illustrations
Language:	eng

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