Why bother with local government?

DO NOWBriefly explain the three main political parties’ positions on the so-called “mansion tax”. What is their official policy? What political principles lead them to hold that policy?

Learning objectives

• To explain the distinction between central and local government

• To evaluate successive attempts to empower local government

• To explain the extent of progress in London

Research task

Research the composition of your local council. You will need to find out:

• who is your local councillor• his/her party alignment• which party controls your council, and • one specific initiative in which the council is

currently involved.

Multi-level governanceMultilevel governance refers to the relationships between different levels of representative administration in liberal democraciesMultilevel governance typically refers to relationships between central, regional and local government, and between any of these and the EUMulti-level governance typically emphasises relationships of persuasion, but in the UK is subject to considerations of Parliamentary sovereigntyUnitary states, such as the UK, can be as ‘tiered’ as federal states. This is particularly true given moves towards devolution and decentralisationIn predominantly urban societies such as the UK, the powers devolved to major cities, particularly capital cities, can be highly contentiousLocal government is typically the place where the citizen meets the state

Recap: What is multi-level governance?

Elected representatives at different levels of governmentThe responsibilities of the different levels of government are of major importance in the United Kingdom. While at all levels there are elected representatives, their power varies considerably. A criticism of local government, for example, is that it largely follows the orders of central government, with limited scope for councillors to decide on major issues in their own right. With devolved government, a major criticism lies in the inequalities in the representation of citizens from the various nations within the UK, leading some observers to suggest the creation of an elected English Parliament. The most powerful elected representatives within the UK are found in the Westminster Parliament, where candidates elected by the people consider the electorate’s best interests, along with possible consequences, when debating and agreeing the laws that the population must abide by. The only directly elected institution within the European Union (EU) is the European Parliament. However, although a supranational body, it does not hold the same authority as national parliaments because power is shared amongst the institutions of the EU.

Source: adapted from T HOLDEN-ROWLEY, M MITCHELL, AS Citizenship Studies for AQA

Stylised history of multi-level governance

1974-1979 1979-1990 1990-1997 1997-2010 2010-140

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Chart Title

Central Government

27 County Councils

202 District Councils

55 Unitary Councils

36 Metropolitan Borough Councils

Elected mayors and local

assemblies

Incl. 32 London Borough Councils

Regional Government

Multi-level government in England and Wales

• Prime minister & Cabinet• Westminster Parliament• Civil Service

• Welsh Assembly• Regional Development

Agencies

How does multi-level government work?

Central

How does multi-level government work?

Annotate your infographic to show which type of coordination is required for each of the following policy initiatives?

• A national literacy strategy requiring all primary schools to teach phonics

• Building a new high-speed rail link between Birmingham and Cardiff

• Promoting the benefits of cycling to school in Doncaster• A commitment to reduce the UK’s carbon emissions by 30%

by the year 2020

How does multi-level government work?

Think of a policy initiative that could involve the EU interacting with any or all of these tiers of government.

Why bother with local government?

The arguments in favour of decentralisation mirror those in favour of devolution. What is the relevance of the following points?

• Democracy• Policy effectiveness

Local government under Labour

The Local Government Act (2000) required all local councils with populations >85,000 to introduce EITHERa) A directly-elected mayor;b) A mayor and council manager (later

rescinded); ORc) An indirectly elected executive leader and

cabinet

Advances in local democracy?

The overwhelming majority of councils opted for option (c), as this involved the least change to existing arrangements Since then, there have been 51 referenda over the establishment of a directly-elected mayor; 16 of these have resulted in ‘yes’ votes

Local government under the Coalition

• The Coalition Government’s Localism Act (2011) aimed to give life to the ‘Big Society’

• It is founded on the principle that community groups that can meet a competency test should have the right to bid for and, if successful, to take over the running of council services

Local government under the Coalition

• The Conservative Party made a strong commitment to local government prior to the 2010 General Election

• David Cameron promised to convene a national ‘cabinet’ of directly-elected mayors

• The 10 largest English cities were all forced to hold referenda on introducing an elected mayor; only two voted yes

Advances in local democracy?

Bristol (pictured) and Liverpool now have elected mayor, but cities such as Manchester and Leeds declined the office.

Study the list of directly elected mayors. Based on this list, what are the key differences between the political composition of local government and central government?

Location Current mayor Party Est. Next election

Bedford Dave Hodgson Liberal Democrat 2002 2015

Bristol George Ferguson Independent 2012 2016

Copeland TBC TBC 2014 2015

Doncaster Peter Davies English Democrats 2002 2017

Hackney Jules Pipe Labour 2002 2018

Leicester Sir Peter Soulsby Labour 2011 2015

Lewisham Steve Bullock Labour 2002 2018

Liverpool Joe Anderson Labour 2012 2016

London Boris Johnson Conservative 2000 2016

Mansfield Tony Egginton Independent 2002 2015

Middlesbrough Ray Mallon Independent 2002 2015

Newham Robin Wales Labour 2002 2018

North Tyneside Norma Redfearn Labour 2002 2017

Salford Ian Stewart Labour 2012 2016

Torbay Gordon Oliver Conservative 2005 2015

Tower Hamlets Lutfur Rahman Tower Hamlets First 2010 2018

Watford Dorothy Thornhill Liberal Democrat 2002 2018

What about London?

• The Labour government held a referendum in 2000

• Londoners decisively voted for an elected mayor and a London assembly

• The first elections were held the same year, resulting in the election of Ken Livingston as an independent

What can the mayor do? • The office of mayor has huge profile but

relatively limited executive power• The mayor controls part of the funds

collected through the Community Charge or ‘council tax’

• He oversees the ‘strategic direction’ of essential services, such as policing, transport and economic development, but does not control these functions day-to-day

• Important services such as health and education remain controlled by central government

• The mayor’s budgetary proposals must be approved by the London assembly in order to be enacted

Party # seats

Labour 12

Conservative 9

Liberal Democrat 2

Green 2

Who is in the London Assembly?

• The London Assembly is composed of 25 elected representatives

• The table below shows the current composition of the Assembly

Evaluate the significance of each of these mayoral policy initiatives:

• The congestion charge• Investment in the London

Underground• Crossrail • Community support officers• ‘Bendy’ buses• The introduction of ‘Boris bikes’• Helping win the 2012 Olympics

Has it made a difference?

Elected representatives at different levels of governmentThe responsibilities of the different levels of government are of major importance in the United Kingdom. While at all levels there are elected representatives, their power varies considerably. A criticism of local government, for example, is that it largely follows the orders of central government, with limited scope for councillors to decide on major issues in their own right. With devolved government, a major criticism lies in the inequalities in the representation of citizens from the various nations within the UK, leading some observers to suggest the creation of an elected English Parliament. The most powerful elected representatives within the UK are found in the Westminster Parliament, where candidates elected by the people consider the electorate’s best interests, along with possible consequences, when debating and agreeing the laws that the population must abide by. The only directly elected institution within the European Union (EU) is the European Parliament. However, although a supranational body, it does not hold the same authority as national parliaments because power is shared amongst the institutions of the EU.

Source: adapted from T HOLDEN-ROWLEY, M MITCHELL, AS Citizenship Studies for AQA

Exam practice

• Explain the term central government used in the extract. (5 marks)

• Explain the term elected representatives used in the extract. (5 marks)

• Using your own knowledge as well as the extract, identify and explain two arguments in favour of the elected mayors in UK cities. (10 marks)

The experience of London proves that local government can work

Has it made a difference?

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

Education Transport Environment

National

Regional

Local

Coordination within the same tier

Coordination across tiers

Policy sector

Tier of government

How does multi-level government work?

Elected representatives at different levels of governmentThe responsibilities of the different levels of government are of major importance in the United Kingdom. While at all levels there are elected representatives, their power varies considerably. A criticism of local government, for example, is that it largely follows the orders of central government, with limited scope for councillors to decide on major issues in their own right. With devolved government, a major criticism lies in the inequalities in the representation of citizens from the various nations within the UK, leading some observers to suggest the creation of an elected English Parliament. The most powerful elected representatives within the UK are found in the Westminster Parliament, where candidates elected by the people consider the electorate’s best interests, along with possible consequences, when debating and agreeing the laws that the population must abide by. The only directly elected institution within the European Union (EU) is the European Parliament. However, although a supranational body, it does not hold the same authority as national parliaments because power is shared amongst the institutions of the EU.

Source: adapted from T HOLDEN-ROWLEY, M MITCHELL, AS Citizenship Studies for AQA

Location Current mayor Party Est. Next election

Bedford Dave Hodgson Liberal Democrat 2002 2015

Bristol George Ferguson Independent 2012 2016

Copeland TBC TBC 2014 2015

Doncaster Peter Davies English Democrats 2002 2017

Hackney Jules Pipe Labour 2002 2018

Leicester Sir Peter Soulsby Labour 2011 2015

Lewisham Steve Bullock Labour 2002 2018

Liverpool Joe Anderson Labour 2012 2016

London Boris Johnson Conservative 2000 2016

Mansfield Tony Egginton Independent 2002 2015

Middlesbrough Ray Mallon Independent 2002 2015

Newham Robin Wales Labour 2002 2018

North Tyneside Norma Redfearn Labour 2002 2017

Salford Ian Stewart Labour 2012 2016

Torbay Gordon Oliver Conservative 2005 2015

Tower Hamlets Lutfur Rahman Tower Hamlets First 2010 2018

Watford Dorothy Thornhill Liberal Democrat 2002 2018

Local government

• Two tier authorities• Unitary authorities• Consolidation of councils• Local government is becoming less local• Role of the private sector and local councils as

“enabling authorities”