The two are not so separate, but do encourage a simple bifurcation between
bureaucracy and post-bureaucracy. The reification of professional values can be seen
part of an ideological process, in which adherence to professionalisation actually leads
to politicization. For example, the 1981 Local Government Planning and Finance Act
seriously reduced the fiscal powers of local authorities in the UK. In doing so, the first
Thatcher administration undermined a source of political opposition. The local
authority Treasurers found themselves as gatekeepers between the demands of central
government to post a legal budget and the pressure from their political masters (local
councillors) to resist central government constraints on the local provision of public
services. The Treasurers established an association to share experiences which
resulted in a greater perception of their political role as gatekeepers, but under the
guise of professionalisation (Rosenberg, 1989).
Drawing on the Canadian experience, Kernaghan distinguishes public services
values as: