1. Why bother with local government? DO NOW Briefly 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?

2. 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

3. 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.

4. Multi-level governance Multilevel governance refers to the relationships between different levels of representative administration in liberal democracies Multilevel governance typically refers to relationships between central, regional and local government, and between any of these and the EU Multi-level governance typically emphasises relationships of persuasion, but in the UK is subject to considerations of Parliamentary sovereignty Unitary states, such as the UK, can be as ‘tiered’ as federal states. This is particularly true given moves towards devolution and decentralisation In predominantly urban societies such as the UK, the powers devolved to major cities, particularly capital cities, can be highly contentious Local government is typically the place where the citizen meets the state Recap: What is multi-level governance?

5. Elected representatives at different levels of government The 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

6. Stylised history of multi-level governance

7. 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

8. How does multi-level government work? Central

9. 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

10. 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.

11. 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

12. Local government under Labour The Local Government Act (2000) required all local councils with populations >85,000 to introduce EITHER a)A directly-elected mayor; b)A mayor and council manager (later rescinded); OR c)An indirectly elected executive leader and cabinet

13. 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

14. 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

15. 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

16. 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?

17. LocationCurrent mayorPartyEst. Next election BedfordDave HodgsonLiberal Democrat20022015 BristolGeorge FergusonIndependent20122016 CopelandTBC 20142015 DoncasterPeter DaviesEnglish Democrats20022017 HackneyJules PipeLabour20022018 LeicesterSir Peter SoulsbyLabour20112015 LewishamSteve BullockLabour20022018 LiverpoolJoe AndersonLabour20122016 LondonBoris JohnsonConservative20002016 MansfieldTony EggintonIndependent20022015 MiddlesbroughRay MallonIndependent20022015 NewhamRobin WalesLabour20022018 North TynesideNorma RedfearnLabour20022017 SalfordIan StewartLabour20122016 TorbayGordon OliverConservative20052015 Tower HamletsLutfur RahmanTower Hamlets First20102018 WatfordDorothy ThornhillLiberal Democrat20022018

18. 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

19. 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

20. Party# seats Labour12 Conservative9 Liberal Democrat2 Green2 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

21. 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?

22. Elected representatives at different levels of government The 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

23. 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)

24. The experience of London proves that local government can work Has it made a difference?

25. ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

26. EducationTransportEnvironment National Regional Local Coordination within the same tier Coordination across tiers Policy sector Tier of government How does multi-level government work?

28. Elected representatives at different levels of government The 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

29. LocationCurrent mayorPartyEst. Next election BedfordDave HodgsonLiberal Democrat20022015 BristolGeorge FergusonIndependent20122016 CopelandTBC 20142015 DoncasterPeter DaviesEnglish Democrats20022017 HackneyJules PipeLabour20022018 LeicesterSir Peter SoulsbyLabour20112015 LewishamSteve BullockLabour20022018 LiverpoolJoe AndersonLabour20122016 LondonBoris JohnsonConservative20002016 MansfieldTony EggintonIndependent20022015 MiddlesbroughRay MallonIndependent20022015 NewhamRobin WalesLabour20022018 North TynesideNorma RedfearnLabour20022017 SalfordIan StewartLabour20122016 TorbayGordon OliverConservative20052015 Tower HamletsLutfur RahmanTower Hamlets First20102018 WatfordDorothy ThornhillLiberal Democrat20022018

30. 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”