Politics of the United Kingdom

The politics of the United Kingdom are based upon a unitary state and a constitutional monarchy. Its system of government (often known as the Westminster system) has been adopted by other countries, such as Canada, India, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore and Jamaica.

Local Government

Main Article: Local Government in the United Kingdom

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The UK is divided into a variety of different types of Local Authorities, which are further subdivided in rural areas and some urban areas into parishes. The vast majority of Local Authorities are controlled by Councils, which are made up of democratically elected councillors, from roughly equally sized wards. In local elections (held in typically in May, with different authorities electing in different years), each of these wards elects councillors (some are single member wards, others are multiple member wards) to represent them. The collection of councillors, the Council, together head the Local Authority. In addition to Local Authorities there are several public safety authorities - Police, Fire Service, Ambulance, Coast Guard, Mountain Rescue - independent from the councils whose borders generally coincide with those of the authorities they serve.

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Local Authorities are responsible for such matters as administering education, public transport, and the management of public spaces. Local authorities are often engaged in community politics.

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Parishes have councils too and some are known as city or town councils. These councils are either made up of elected parish councillors, or in very small parishes, they use direct democracy.

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There are two common systems of local government in the U.K.: the old-style two-tier and newer single-tier system. The older (and far more complex) two-tier system consists of Borough (urban) and District (rural) Councils, below County Councils. The District Councils are responsible for garbage collection, granting planning permission and funding for housing the poor; Borough Councils have the additional responsibilities for the maintenance of highways and recreational facilities. In District (rural) areas responsibility for highways and recreational facilities passes to County and Parish councils respectively. County Councils are also responsible for education, social services, some public transport, etc.. Several Borough Councils also act as a District Council over part of their area, and in some cases they cover an area where their responsibilities are midway between the two. For example Bedford Borough Council acts as District Council for most of North Bedfordshire, but has highways responsibility in several District parishes (Clapham, Biddenham, Elstow); In addition, several of Bedford's Wards (Brickhill, the Kempstons) are urban Parishes and so the Borough Council has no responsibility for the recreational facilities in those wards - they pass to the Brickhill Parish and Kempston Town Councils.

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Unitary Authorities, which are in use throughout the whole of Scotland and Wales and in many areas in England, combine Borough, District and County Councils into one body. In areas where a unitary authority exists within the boundary of a Ceremonial County they share common public safety authorities. Examples of Unitary Authorities within Ceremonial Counties include Luton (shares services with Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire) and Milton Keynes (shares services with Buckinghamshire).

Related Topics:
Unitary Authorities - Ceremonial County

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