The book provides a broad-based introduction to policy-making in Britain, exporing the legacy of the Thatcher era and charting the new context of policy-making in the 1990s.The authors examine the policy process within its ideological, political and economic context, discussing both the influence of Europe and the influence of local government. Having established a broad framework for analysis, the book focuses on a selection of particular policy areas; public expenditure, the NHS, Next Steps, water privatisation, pensions, education and immigration.The aim of the book is to give a sense of the actual dynamics of policy-making and to encourage students to think about the likely outcomes of policy-change, while making the connections between British public policy and the environment in which it is shaped.