Place Leadership and The Social Contract: Re-Examining Local Leadership in the East Midlands

This paper uses Social Contract theory to (re) examine attempts to establish leadership roles in the East Midlands, Corby, Leicestershire and Northamptonshire between 1998-2014. The paper argues that in order to establish and embed a contract with the locality leaders must take into account both the territorial and relational characteristics of their place. Where the territory had little cohesion or did not cover a single area of economic functionality it was difficult to establish, or justify, leadership roles in those territories. In areas of economic functionality leadership required the involvement of the Local Government to demonstrate the legitimacy of the contract on offer.