The restructuring of local government finance in Britain is increasingly being viewed as part and parcel of a broader transformation in the capacity for local welfare provision and scope of local governance. The ways in which local authority budgetary processes and strategies have been affected by these changes are examined. It is suggested that, despite strong elements of continuity, significant new developments in local budgeting behaviour are emerging. However, such changes are not universal. The paper incorporates a comparative case study analysis of two local authorities in central southern England in order to illustrate the geographically uneven way in which local circumstances have mediated the experiences of and reactions to increasing fiscal austerity.
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