Political resistance, representation, and identity during English local government re-organisation: a micro-case study.

Abstract

This paper examines the political and identity-based consequences of the 2019 Local Government Reorganisation (LGR) in Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole (BCP), where three historic towns were merged into a single unitary authority. Contrary to claims that LGR typically weakens local and independent representation, findings from BCP suggest that reorganisation spurred resistance and reassertions of local identity, which in turn mobilised support for independents and cross-party alliances. This paper explores how discontent with both local and national politics, strong town-based civic identities, and a perceived imbalance in power, fuelled enduring tensions. These dynamics, compounded by political instability and governance challenges, reveal how top-down amalgamation can deepen rather than resolve intra-local divides. In BCP, LGR became a site of political transformation, not merely administrative reform, highlighting the importance of identity, place, and local agency in shaping post-reform governance across England’s evolving subnational landscape.