City Pride — from 'municipal socialism' to 'municipal capitalism'?

This article examines the shift on the part of formerly progressive local authorities, from a municipal socialist to a municipal pride stance. The author argues that this municipal pride approach to urban regene ration, capitulates to the shrunken horizons of the new marketised contract culture, whereby social service provision is separated from local authority delivery and is effectively privatised, creating a new and private relatiomhip between purchaser and provider. This forfeits the principle of the universality of welfare provision and, argues the author, amounts to a betrayal, by Labour authorities, of those con stituents who cannot wield the power that comes with being a purchas ing customer. The article then seeks to re-appropriate the terms of this new contracting environment and turn it against itself, in the process re-empowering those ordinarily disempowered by the unbridled workings of the market.