Modernization, Neighbourhood Management and Social Inclusion

Social inclusion is a central goal of the UK New Labour Government, which it is aiming to achieve partly through neighbourhood interventions. This article argues that achieving social inclusion requires a combination of New Labour policies for democratic renewal and tackling social exclusion and it identifies four dimensions along which activity towards social inclusion can be judged. The article draws on evidence from one English city to highlight the contribution of neighbourhood policies and programmes to social inclusion. It considers the strengths and limitations of three approaches and concludes that to achieve social inclusion the collective capacity of the three approaches is essential. However, closer examination of the Government's proposals suggests several obstacles to achieving their combined potential. A particular obstacle is the marginalization of local government and its unique contribution and the article concludes that without this New Labour is will fail to deliver on a key component of social inclusion.