Gillian Peele

One of the most profound changes in British public life over the last twenty years has been the increasing concern with probity and standards. Some of that concern has been the product of scandals such as the cash for questions affair and the expenses scandal; some of it reflects the erosion of trust in politicians and in traditional approaches to government and administration. The book analyses the way new machinery and new rules have been put in place in different parts of the public sector as a protection against corruption and conflict of interest and as a spur to raising standards. It provides the first full-length treatment of the evolving integrity agenda in the United Kingdom. The book traces the impact of the Committee on Standards in Public Life which set out the Nolan principles in its first report in 1995 and examines how those principles have been applied in different sectors – Parliament, the executive, the civil service, local government and the devolved governments – and how they have been applied to the problems of party funding and lobbying. Finally, it assesses the changing level of support for the Committee’s mission and the impact of its work both on the quality of public life itself and on public confidence.

One of the most profound changes in British public life over the last twenty years has been the increasing concern with probity and standards. Some of that concern has been the product of scandals such as the cash for questions affair and the expenses scandal; some of it reflects the erosion of trust in politicians and in traditional approaches to government and administration. The book analyses the way new machinery and new rules have been put in place in different parts of the public sector as a protection against corruption and conflict of interest and as a spur to raising standards. It provides the first full-length treatment of the evolving integrity agenda in the United Kingdom. The book traces the impact of the Committee on Standards in Public Life which set out the Nolan principles in its first report in 1995 and examines how those principles have been applied in different sectors – Parliament, the executive, the civil service, local government and the devolved governments – and how they have been applied to the problems of party funding and lobbying. Finally, it assesses the changing level of support for the Committee’s mission and the impact of its work both on the quality of public life itself and on public confidence.

This well-established textbook gives students a thorough understanding of the machinery and processes of government in the United Kingdom as well as of the forces shaping the country’s politics. For the fourth edition the text has been substantially updated to take account of the many significant shifts in British politics since 1997, especially the constitutional reforms of the 1997 Labour government. Extensive annotated guides to further reading and suggested questions for discussion at the end of each chapter. A greater use of illustrative material, case studies and graphics, which supplement the text in a lively manner. Clear summaries of arguments and chronologies of complex events, as well as boxes giving biographical data on significant political figures. A dedicated website, www.blackwellpublishing.com/peele, features information on the book, sample chapters, updated articles so that teachers and students can be regularly updated between editions. A range of Internet resources to encourage students to keep up-to-date with a rapidly changing subject matter.

Women, Identity and Private Life in Britain, 1900-50, explores the meanings and experience of home and private life for women who grew up in England before 1950. It considers the extent to which class, suburbanisation and historical moment as well as gender constructed women's understanding of domesticity, and discusses the part played by conceptions of home and private life in the shaping of identities. Oral narratives, fiction, autobiography and diaries are used in conjunction with psychoanalytic, linguistic and historical explanations of women's lives to map a psychological as well as a social history of women's relationship to the home in the early part of this century.

Women, Identity and Private Life in Britain, 1900-50, explores the meanings and experience of home and private life for women who grew up in England before 1950. It considers the extent to which class, suburbanisation and historical moment as well as gender constructed women's understanding of domesticity, and discusses the part played by conceptions of home and private life in the shaping of identities. Oral narratives, fiction, autobiography and diaries are used in conjunction with psychoanalytic, linguistic and historical explanations of women's lives to map a psychological as well as a social history of women's relationship to the home in the early part of this century.