Community development as counter-hegemony

Both politics and community development have changed in England since the 2007/8 financial crisis. Prior to the crisis, a decade-long renaissance of community development was supported by the New Labour government (1997–2010). Through its communitarian and third-way agenda, New Labour endorsed community development as a tool to foster social capital to build ‘stronger’ and more ‘cohesive’ communities (Kay, 2006). Its scope expanded, with considerable infrastructure investment in the public sector, and in service delivery contracts to the voluntary sector (Taylor, 2012). The financial crisis disrupted such growth, which, this chapter argues, has facilitated the decline of community development activity has facilitated the decline of community development activity in the UK, particularly in England.