01051pab a2200133 454500008004000000100001900040245006100059260000900120300001400129362001100143520071300154650002100867773002900888180718b2002   xxu||||| |||| 00| 0 eng d  aEntwistle, Tom  aExplaining the birth of the local government association  c2002  ap.91-102.  aSpring  aIn the summer of 1995 the three local authority associations that had provided English and Welsh local authorities with their national representation voted to merge and form the Local Government Association.  This article explains the merger as dependent upon the coincidence of three conditions.  The first was a positive belief in the benefits of merger shared by the leaderships of the three associations.  The second was a disruption of the status quo prompted by the Conservative government's proposals for local government reorganisation.  The third was a change in Labour Party policy away from the defence of a dedicated metropolitan association to a preference for a unified cross-party association.  aLocal government  aLocal Government Studies