Energy policy under austerity localism: what role for local authorities?

In the United Kingdom, Local Authorities have been placed at the forefront of domestic energy reduction strategies as the responsible actors for coordinating policy in this sector. Yet, there has been little research regarding the role of Local Authorities in this policy agenda, and their abilities to bring together stakeholders in the successful design and implementation of strategies to reduce energy demands. The paper aims to fill this gap by highlighting the relevance and importance of the energy policy sphere to local government studies, building on the idea of resilient Local Authorities within the context of tensions between the localism agenda and the actual implementation of energy efficiency polices. This is achieved through multiple rounds of semi-structured interviews with Local Authority officers. Our findings reveal that Local Authorities operating under a localism agenda, lack the freedoms and resources from Central Government to meet the needs of multiple stakeholders, resorting to short-term policies.