Party Politics and Spending Decisions in Local Authorities

Attempts to answer the question “Does politics make any difference?” by comparing the total spending of local authorities under three types of political control over seven years. Considers statistical data for a seven‐year period in the light of party‐political manifesto undertakings over spending on services. ANOVA and t‐test statistical analyses are applied to data on a sample of 15 local authorities, divided equally into Labour, Conservative and“hung” councils, to assess differences between their per capita spending. The results support the view that political ideologies play a significant role in local authority spending decisions.