Public expenditure cuts in Britain and consumption sectoral cleavages

• Published in: International journal of urban and regional research 1984-06, Vol.8 (2), p.177-201
• Main Authors: Duke, Vic, Edgell, Stephen
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Appropriations and expenditures; Britain/British (see also England, Great Britain); Consumption; Expenditures; Great Britain; Social policy; Social status
• ISSN: 0309-1317; 1468-2427
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1468-2427.1984.tb00607.x

An exploration of the relevance of recent predominantly neo-Marxist theories of collective consumption to an understanding of public expenditure cuts in GB. Several hypotheses generated from P. Dunleavy's model of consumption sectoral cleavages ("The Urban Basis of Political Alignment: Social Class, Domestic Property Ownership, and State Intervention in Consumption Processes," British Journal of Political Science, 1979, 9, 409-443) are tested with survey data from the Greater Manchester Study, which involves a comparison of reactions to spending cuts in two districts in Greater Manchester. Secondary analysis of the nationwide British Election Study 1979 provides further evidence. The theoretical usefulness & empirical applicability of the concept of consumption sectoral cleavages are substantiated, & hypotheses relating to Dunleavy's framework largely confirmed. The importance of overlapping consumption locations such that involvement in wholly private or wholly public modes of consumption is particularly relevant to the polarization of consumption sectoral cleavages. Both SC & consumption sector influence the ideological structuration of public spending issues, but differences between consumption locations remain within SCs. Furthermore, variations in political orientation are more closely related to overall consumption location than to SC. The importance of SC should not be underestimated; although local issues are frequently consumption based, political action in response to them may involve a significant SC component. Further research is needed on the impact of consumption sectoral cleavages in different kinds of local class structure & on the relationship between consumption & production sectoral cleavages. 8 Tables, 1 Figure, 1 Appendix, 48 References. AA.