Abstract
Parish councils are not a new phenomenon in English politics or English local government. Rather, they have had a long and varied existence across parts of England. Today, however, much of England remains unparished.
Parish councils have no right of existence. In fact, their existence may depend upon the ‘politics’ within the local principal authority, which, in turn, may suffer the same insecurities in relation to Parliament. The establishing of parish councils requires the approval of the principal authority.
The most local tier of government in England is experiencing something of a resurgence. Here the scene is set as to why this might be the case.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Bibliography
Chandler, J. (2007). Explaining Local Government: Local Government in Britain Since 1800. Manchester: Manchester University Press.
Copus, C., & Wall, R. (2017). The Voice of the Councillor: Final Report of the De Montfort University and Municipal Journal Councillor Commission. Leicester: DMU.
Coulson, A. (1999). Decentralisation and Democracy: The Neglected Potential of Parish Councils. Progressive Review, 6(2), 115–118. https://doi.org/10.1111/1468-0041.00081.
Department for Communities and Local Government and The Local Government Boundaries Commission for England. (2010). Guidance on Community Governance Reviews. London: Crown Copyright.
Finer, H. (1950). English Local Government (4th ed., revised). London: Methuen & Co.
Fletcher, D. (2013). Government Boundary Mapping Policy and the Knowledge Apparatus of the British State, 1841–1889. The Journal of Policy History, 25(4), 513–536.
Gutchen, R. M. (1961). Local Improvements and Centralization in Nineteenth-Century England. The Historical Journal, 4(1), 85–96.
Jones, A. (2018, September). Parish Councils and Councillors: A Resurgence in the Most Local Tier of Government? Paper to the European Consortium for Political Research (ECPR) Annual Conference, University of Hamburg, Germany.
Local Government Act (1972). c. 70 (Crown Copyright).
Redlich, J., & Hirst, F. (1970). The History of Local Government in England (2nd ed.). Edited by B. Keith-Lucas. London: Macmillan.
Sandford, M. (2015, November 7). Parish and Town Councils: Recent Issues. House of Commons Library Briefing Paper Number 04827.
Toulmin Smith, J. (1857). The Parish: Its Powers and Obligations at Law. London: H. Sweet.
Webb, S., & Webb, B. (1963). English Local Government Volume 2: The Manor and the Borough Part 1. London: Frank Cass and Co. First Published 1908.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2020 The Author(s)
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Jones, A. (2020). Introduction: What Is a Parish Council?. In: The Resurgence of Parish Council Powers in England. Palgrave Pivot, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-45128-8_1
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-45128-8_1
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Pivot, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-45127-1
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-45128-8
eBook Packages: Political Science and International StudiesPolitical Science and International Studies (R0)