After The Revolution: Lessons From Local Government On Designing A Dynamic Democracy - Softcover

Clive Stevens

Softcover

ISBN 10: 191008994X ISBN 13: 9781910089941

Publisher: Tangent Books, 2020

Synopsis

Local government is broken. But Clive Stevens knows how to fix it. Stevens combines a lifetime of skills drawn from business, academia, local activism, parenting and politics to present a forensic, engaging analysis as to how and why political decisions are made. After spending five years as a Bristol City Councillor, he lifts the lid off local and national democracy and discovers some golden nuggets and rotten apples to help guide voters, activists and policy makers. After The Revolution is the result of this study and details Stevens' use of the term 'The Mathematics Of Power' in precise detail to explain how politics works and democracy doesn't. It's an amusing and yet sad, ground-breaking and meticulous study of how we can both rescue our democracy and increase the country's wealth.

About this title

About the Author

Clive Stevens has had a varied career, mainly in business, starting out in his father's shop in East London in the 1960s (probably underage) then setting up an impromptu car wash in a car park in Shenfield, Essex. Jobs at Marconi, Courtaulds, De La Rue and Sealed Air Corporation saw him move from electronics product development, sales and marketing of marine paints, production management in the packaging sector, technical service of cash machines and eventually to become managing director of a 120 person security packaging business. A career of sorts, which took him from: Brentwood; London to Newcastle upon Tyne; London again; Bristol; the West Midlands and ending up near Cambridge. Then a break from 'big business' aided by a big row with his boss: he moved with family back to Bristol to set up his own business in 1998 (and with entrepreneurship the order of the day, that led to lecturing in business and a limited amount of angel investing). Education wise: Clive went to Woodford Green, then Brentwood, then off to Emmanuel College Cambridge (Nat Sciences); in 1987, a year at INSEAD in Fontainebleau (MBA) with a short internship at Goldman Sachs. He continued a lifelong learning approach and adding post graduate diplomas at UWE in Teaching (Further and Higher Education) and then Law. As well as running a business, Clive taught business at the University of Bath (for 18 years, and wrote his first book) as well as shorter stints at UWE and one year at Bristol University. Not much time in politics; he joined the Green Party in January 2015 and was elected Councillor for Clifton Down ward, Bristol in May 2016. He is also a fellow of the RSA wanting to develop social enterprise ideas to enhance themes covered in this book. Two lovely daughters to whom this book is dedicated to, he says, 'it's your world now; my generation has messed up, enjoy fixing everything...'

Edition details

• Publisher: Tangent Books
• Publication date: 2020
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 191008994X
• ISBN 13: 9781910089941
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 424
• Editor: Richard Jones