British Politics For Dummies, 2nd Edition

Chapter 17

Laying Bare Local Government and Devolution

In This Chapter

Looking at local government throughout the UK

Electing local officials

Checking out devolution and what it means for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland

If you want to know how government works across the length and breadth of the UK, from the tiniest hamlet to the largest city, this is the chapter to check out. I hold up the inner complexities of local government for scrutiny from county council to town hall. I also take a brief peak into one of the big political movements of our time – devolution, with powers moving from the British government in Westminster to the powerful parliament of Scotland and the Welsh and Northern Ireland assemblies in all their Technicolor – or should that be technocratic? – glory. See Chapter 18 for even more on this.

Understanding that All Politics Is Local

Prominent American politician Thomas ‘Tip’ O’Neill once famously said that ‘all politics is local’. He meant that what happens close to home, in the lives of electors, affects the way they view politicians and ultimately the way they vote. If an individual is made redundant or faces a hefty tax bill from her local council, ...