This paper is based on interviews with four chief executives of district/borough authorities in a two‐tier local government area. The interviews constitute a snapshot of opinion from a group of people ideally placed to relate to the issue under discussion, namely the importance of strategy and...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to build on a previous study of strategy in the public sector by Dereli in 2003. In the intervening period the environmental factors influencing local government's approach to strategy have changed considerably, particularly with the government's changed...

Purpose – This paper aims to initiate debate about the tension between ideologies being played out in local government, as illustrated by the case of the empowerment agenda. Design/methodology/approach – The paper considers a range of evidence from: academic research; government documents;...