Gordon Fearn
Biographic Data
| ID | 778302 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Gordon Fearn |
| GIVEN NAMES | Gordon |
| FAMILY NAME | Fearn |
| SIGNATURE | FEARN G |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Manchester |
| ORCID | 0000-0001-8425-2376 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 13 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 35 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 13 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 1986 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 3 |
A Tale of Two Energy Crises
Neoliberalism’s apotheosis? Class, capital and the ideological development of the UK Labour Party’s planning reforms
Planning reform is a central part of the new UK Labour government’s programme. This article shows how their proposed reforms draw upon a neoliberal problematisation of planning developed by several think tanks, where the planning system is seen as creating delay, as overly regulatory and as providing too much space for deliberation. The article shows that Labour draws on this problematisation while developing its own solutions through a series of…
Neoliberal crises and the city
This Special Issue presents ‘authoritarian neoliberal urbanism’ as an empirical marker and a concept that signposts the ascendence of a new constellation in which authoritarianism becomes an ever-growing force in our cities in the neoliberal present, not only structuring how urban space is experienced but also repurposing it to reinforce authoritarian legitimacy and consolidate political power. This paper introduces six contributions that empiric…
Housing the historical bloc
Neoliberalisation, particularly since the financial crisis, has been associated with significant housing crises. Rising prices and rents have benefitted asset owners, whilst squeezing younger generations out of the ‘property owning democracy’. As the tensions between these two groups grow, states are seeking further reforms to urban planning to deliver greater levels of private house-building, as a policy fix which also serves the interests of ca…
Planning incapacitated
Coal mining in the UK, once central to its political economy, has been in terminal decline for decades for both political and more recently environmental reasons. Against the grain of this decline, the proposal of a new metallurgical coal mine near Whitehaven (on the north west coast of England) has caused significant controversy. Those supporting the mines development say it is necessary to 'level up' from the previous decade of austerity, where…
New Management, Old Energy
The Labour Party's proposals on energy are arguably the most progressive feature of their programme, as they attempt to address climate breakdown. This article shows that a substantial part of the party's proposals are continuous with the attempts, in the later years of New Labour, to compensate for the various problems created by energy liberalisation under Thatcher and Blair, whilst still remaining within a broadly neoliberal paradigm. Current …
The end of the experiment? The energy crisis, neoliberal energy, and the limits to a socio-ecological fix
The present energy crisis is one which is rooted in the contradictions of the neoliberalisation of energy. The UK is one of the pioneers of energy neoliberalisation and has been experimenting with different market arrangements since the 1980s, yet has found itself particularly exposed to the impacts of a global energy price shock. Through an analysis of policy documents, regulatory reports and historical energy policy literature, I identify how p…
The age of the manager is over? Shale gas fracking and the challenge to the post-political regime for English planning
Planning systems developed through the period of ‘normative’, ‘third way’ neoliberalism were critiqued as being ‘post-political’. Planning systems were developed that bypassed political conflicts through technocratic and consensus-seeking approaches following a so-called ‘end of history’ in which left/right ideological conflicts were deemed settled. Following the North Atlantic financial crisis of 2007/8 though, scholars have begun to question wh…
From post‐political to authoritarian planning in England, a crisis of legitimacy
This paper argues that the crisis of post‐politics has sparked an authoritarian turn in spatial planning in England. The proposed reform of the English planning system in 2020 is a defining moment, marking not only the failure of consensus‐seeking politics in governing dissents but also the rising authoritarian responses to fix it. This is manifest in the intensification of state control, strengthening of executive power, and decline of democrati…
Prime-Time Families
Opinion Control in the Democracies
Political Thought in Canada
Political Thought in Canada
From post‐political to authoritarian planning in England, a crisis of legitimacy
This paper argues that the crisis of post‐politics has sparked an authoritarian turn in spatial planning in England. The proposed reform of the English planning system in 2020 is a defining moment, marking not only the failure of consensus‐seeking politics in governing dissents but also the rising authoritarian responses to fix it. This is manifest in the intensification of state control, strengthening of executive power, and decline of democrati…
The end of the experiment? The energy crisis, neoliberal energy, and the limits to a socio-ecological fix
The present energy crisis is one which is rooted in the contradictions of the neoliberalisation of energy. The UK is one of the pioneers of energy neoliberalisation and has been experimenting with different market arrangements since the 1980s, yet has found itself particularly exposed to the impacts of a global energy price shock. Through an analysis of policy documents, regulatory reports and historical energy policy literature, I identify how p…
Planning incapacitated
Coal mining in the UK, once central to its political economy, has been in terminal decline for decades for both political and more recently environmental reasons. Against the grain of this decline, the proposal of a new metallurgical coal mine near Whitehaven (on the north west coast of England) has caused significant controversy. Those supporting the mines development say it is necessary to 'level up' from the previous decade of austerity, where…
Housing the historical bloc
Neoliberalisation, particularly since the financial crisis, has been associated with significant housing crises. Rising prices and rents have benefitted asset owners, whilst squeezing younger generations out of the ‘property owning democracy’. As the tensions between these two groups grow, states are seeking further reforms to urban planning to deliver greater levels of private house-building, as a policy fix which also serves the interests of ca…
The age of the manager is over? Shale gas fracking and the challenge to the post-political regime for English planning
Planning systems developed through the period of ‘normative’, ‘third way’ neoliberalism were critiqued as being ‘post-political’. Planning systems were developed that bypassed political conflicts through technocratic and consensus-seeking approaches following a so-called ‘end of history’ in which left/right ideological conflicts were deemed settled. Following the North Atlantic financial crisis of 2007/8 though, scholars have begun to question wh…
Opinion Control in the Democracies
Neoliberal crises and the city
This Special Issue presents ‘authoritarian neoliberal urbanism’ as an empirical marker and a concept that signposts the ascendence of a new constellation in which authoritarianism becomes an ever-growing force in our cities in the neoliberal present, not only structuring how urban space is experienced but also repurposing it to reinforce authoritarian legitimacy and consolidate political power. This paper introduces six contributions that empiric…
Political Thought in Canada
Political Thought in Canada
Political Thought in Canada
Opinion Control in the Democracies
Prime-Time Families
From post‐political to authoritarian planning in England, a crisis of legitimacy
This paper argues that the crisis of post‐politics has sparked an authoritarian turn in spatial planning in England. The proposed reform of the English planning system in 2020 is a defining moment, marking not only the failure of consensus‐seeking politics in governing dissents but also the rising authoritarian responses to fix it. This is manifest in the intensification of state control, strengthening of executive power, and decline of democrati…
The age of the manager is over? Shale gas fracking and the challenge to the post-political regime for English planning
Planning systems developed through the period of ‘normative’, ‘third way’ neoliberalism were critiqued as being ‘post-political’. Planning systems were developed that bypassed political conflicts through technocratic and consensus-seeking approaches following a so-called ‘end of history’ in which left/right ideological conflicts were deemed settled. Following the North Atlantic financial crisis of 2007/8 though, scholars have begun to question wh…
New Management, Old Energy
The Labour Party's proposals on energy are arguably the most progressive feature of their programme, as they attempt to address climate breakdown. This article shows that a substantial part of the party's proposals are continuous with the attempts, in the later years of New Labour, to compensate for the various problems created by energy liberalisation under Thatcher and Blair, whilst still remaining within a broadly neoliberal paradigm. Current …
The end of the experiment? The energy crisis, neoliberal energy, and the limits to a socio-ecological fix
The present energy crisis is one which is rooted in the contradictions of the neoliberalisation of energy. The UK is one of the pioneers of energy neoliberalisation and has been experimenting with different market arrangements since the 1980s, yet has found itself particularly exposed to the impacts of a global energy price shock. Through an analysis of policy documents, regulatory reports and historical energy policy literature, I identify how p…
Planning incapacitated
Coal mining in the UK, once central to its political economy, has been in terminal decline for decades for both political and more recently environmental reasons. Against the grain of this decline, the proposal of a new metallurgical coal mine near Whitehaven (on the north west coast of England) has caused significant controversy. Those supporting the mines development say it is necessary to 'level up' from the previous decade of austerity, where…
Neoliberalism’s apotheosis? Class, capital and the ideological development of the UK Labour Party’s planning reforms
Planning reform is a central part of the new UK Labour government’s programme. This article shows how their proposed reforms draw upon a neoliberal problematisation of planning developed by several think tanks, where the planning system is seen as creating delay, as overly regulatory and as providing too much space for deliberation. The article shows that Labour draws on this problematisation while developing its own solutions through a series of…
Neoliberal crises and the city
This Special Issue presents ‘authoritarian neoliberal urbanism’ as an empirical marker and a concept that signposts the ascendence of a new constellation in which authoritarianism becomes an ever-growing force in our cities in the neoliberal present, not only structuring how urban space is experienced but also repurposing it to reinforce authoritarian legitimacy and consolidate political power. This paper introduces six contributions that empiric…
Housing the historical bloc
Neoliberalisation, particularly since the financial crisis, has been associated with significant housing crises. Rising prices and rents have benefitted asset owners, whilst squeezing younger generations out of the ‘property owning democracy’. As the tensions between these two groups grow, states are seeking further reforms to urban planning to deliver greater levels of private house-building, as a policy fix which also serves the interests of ca…
A Tale of Two Energy Crises
Political science (10 works) · Law (9 works) · Politics (9 works) · Economics (6 works) · Housing, Finance, and Neoliberalism (6 works) · Law (6 works) · Political and Economic history of UK and US (6 works) · Sociology (6 works) · Political economy (5 works) · Urban Planning and Governance (4 works)