Industrial Restructuring, Local Politics and the Reproduction of Labour Power: Some Theoretical Considerations

The industrial restructuring thesis is criticised for offering too limited an explanation of local political consequences. A more elaborate model is developed to connect industrial change and local political behaviour. Burawoy's concept of factory regime and Castells' analysis of collective consumption are scrutinised to establish connections between production processes, labour-market conditions, patterns in the reproduction of labour power, and local political practices. These links are illustrated empirically by reference to a local case-study of a town in northwest England. The model is developed in terms of the operation of three mechanisms which underlie local political practices: factory regime, local labour-market, and mode of the provision of services.