National and International Democracy
We’ve looked at local democracy in a little bit of detail. But what about the bigger picture?
As London is so big, there is a regional government called the GLA (Greater London Authority) to run matters affecting London like transport, police, fire and ambulance services. The GLA is run by the Mayor of London.
The London Assembly
There are 25 Assembly members who are elected every four years. The Assembly investigates important issues to Londoners. Both the Mayor and Assembly operate from the GLA’s offices in City Hall, designed by Lord Norman Foster, on the South Bank by Tower Bridge.
Houses of Parliament
The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Parliament also includes the upper house, the House of Lords. The Prime Minister leads the main party, and “the Cabinet” – made up of Members of Parliament. These Members will have titles like “Minister for Health” or “Minister for Communities and Local Government”. The Minister for Finance is called the Chancellor of the Exchequer.
The opposition party will have similar positions, and is known as the “shadow cabinet”. All elected members are called Members of Parliament (MPs).
The House of Lords is made up of Lords and Ladies. They are called Peers. The House of Lords does not make policy but looks at it closely. They can send proposals back to the House of Commons to have it looked at again.
The European Parliament
Even though Britain makes its own laws in Parliament, it is part of Europe too. The European Parliament is made up of different sets of elected people, who come from all over Europe. Different regions of Europe are represented. They have the titles of Member of the European Parliament (MEPs).
They may be concerned with big issues to do with trading across Europe and with other continents, fishing quotas, agriculture and pollution. European law can over-rule national law.
Page updated: 28 Jan 2008