Recent changes in British politics can be partly understood in terms of the gradual replacement of political division in space by political division in time. This article explores that development by examining local politicians’ accounts of political time. In the main, the rise of Third Way consensus politics was found to be represented as either a progressive or regressive development, although the former version was by far the most common. In addition, some councillors were seen to face an ‘ideological dilemma’ between recognizing the recent emergence of non-partisan politics and a preference for a timeless non-partisanship for self.
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