In-area and out-of-area statecraft

Engaging commercial, sometimes international, financiers and their more spatially open and mobile worldviews, more locally rooted statecrafters in municipal finance in England have established new geographical relationships and arrangements. This local statecraft realm forges a new distinction between in-area and out-of-area. Given their founding local purposes, national governance of local government activities addresses their powers and responsibilities within their local boundaries. New and differentiated financial strategies and arrangements emerged in-area across England since 2010 including more active asset management covering land, property, and infrastructure as well as extension or initiation of commercialization activities in wholly or jointly owned businesses. Intensifying fiscal pressures forced local statecrafters to extend activities beyond their local areas. While long-standing in geographically dispersed local government pension fund investments and other limited activities, new and differentiated out-of-area strategies and arrangements involve shared management and service collaborations, local pooling of business rates revenues, investment strategies involving commercial properties and other projects, and commercial activity extension outside their territories. Underpinned by local statehood, this new local statecraft within and beyond local administrative jurisdictions in England since 2010 extends and forges new relations, rewiring and rescaling objectives, incentives, autonomies, and accountabilities. The UK government, professional and sector bodies, and commentators are concerned about what these activities mean for local government’s purpose, financial resilience, and sustainability.