Anti-politics in context: the politics of localism in London

There is a substantial body of theory on the notion of anti-politics, which is characterised as a widespread public disengagement from politics. The Localism Act 2011 was intended to increase engagement. This paper reviews research into the development of neighbourhood planning in London, so as to discern the politics of this leading-edge localism. Anti-politics theory is used as a frame of reference and is contextualised to this London experience of civic engagement. Three forms of anti-politics theory are identified; empirical, process and ideological. The uneven advance of neighbourhood planning across London and the widely varying levels of support from borough councils leads to speculation of a contra-localism at work, which amounts to an additional form of anti-politics; institutional. It is suggested that resistance by some councils might be explained, either by the challenge from an emergent deliberative democracy, or by ideological opposition to some aspects of neighbourhood planning in practice.