All You Need to Know About Government and Politics

I'm going to attempt to try and do a bulleted version of our past few classes about government and politics for our test on Friday. This should be able to help with any revision for the test.

ENGLAND LOCAL GOVERNMENT

• There are single and two tier system of local government.
• In the early 1990's the structure of English local governmetn was revised - single tier councils or unitary authorities are responsible for all local authorities services and functions.
• A two tier system in which responsibility for services is divided between district and county councils
• There are 55 unitary authorites (big city, southampton, portsmouth etc) They are the most important it then goes down - county councils - district councils - parish councils.
• There are 9 English Regions created in 1994 - European Constituencies (were South East)
• More than 2 million people are employed by local authorites. These include school teachers, social services, the police etc.
• Councillors are elected for a 4 year term.
• Constituencies are who get elected
• By-election just for one constituency if someone dies or resigns.
• Local authorites - all councils - spending in England.
• Councillors are responsible for making decisions on behalf of their local community about local services such as land use, refuse collection and leisure facilities.
• District councils and others provide a variety of services.
• CCT - Compulsory competitive tendering - Thatcher encouraged this
• Schools can drop out of Local Authority control and be funded by the government.
• District, metropolitan and unitary authorities are responsible for planning permission.
• Roads and highways, libraries, trading standards are local authorites.
• Fire services deal with fires :) fire safety inspections, fire certificates.
• Councils are responsible for about 50% of social housing across England and Wales.
• Poll tax 1990- 93 - replaces rates - council tax - it provides only about 1/4 of local funding. - every year it increases but no more tha 5%
• Quango "quasi-autonomous non governmental organisation" - not elected. Can be very lucrative and secretive.

LABOUR AND CONSERVATIVES

• They are the big two parties.
• Thatcher with Conservative in the 1980's.
• Labour's big moment was just after WW2, the welfare state and the NHS. (Labour is on the left)
• Clement Atlee won the election from Churchill, he won by a landslide by promising a socil, welfare state. To help the sick, poor, old, jobless people. People wanted to feel safe after living through the latest war.
• It was Atlees idea but Beverage came up with the blueprint for the NHS. The state would look after you from cradle to the grave.
• The Beverage report against the 5 evils - ignorance, squalor, want, idleness and disease.
• England owed America £3.5 billion.
• Kanes was sent to Washington to ask for an interest free loan for £8.5 million.
• 60% of Americans were against giving the UK a loan/gift.
• Kanes held court for 3 days - everyone said that he did amazingly but after 3 months the USA said no. They later gave £4 million. This was finally paid off in December of 2006.
• The heart of the Labour party - it was their time of real power - the welfare state.
• CONSERVATIVES
• Thatcher privatised all the companies - airlines - gas companies - trains etc
• they freed it all up and let the market decide - Adam Smith.
• Section 28 - Torie bill - dont promote homosexual lifestyle - interpreted an anti-gay. David Cameron ahs since apologised for it and was replaed in 2003.
• Proportional representation - voting form - 1st/2nd/3rd preference. - The votes are shared out until one gets in. Can mean huge competition via lots of little groups.
• Ministeres = the cabinet - the prime minister.
• If the party wins - the party chooses the party leader who then becomes prime minister. he then chooses the ministers.

WESTMINSTER

• House of Commons - elected.
• House of Lords - not elected.
• The rules of privilege mean that you can report virtually anythin said in the House. But dont forget the subjudice rules.
• And dont mention the Royals. The Commons Rule Book, Erskine May rules against it.
• Super injunction - stops the press from printing a story and stops them from saying anything about it at all.
• Departmental questions - where the MP's are given the opportunity to question ministers at the start of the Commons daily proceedings.
• Each day, except Friday, begins with question to ministers from one department, usually lasting just under an hour.
• Ministers from each Whitehall department face questions in rotation roughly once a month.
• Ministerial questions - these are generally made when a minister either has something important to announce or wishes to bring MP's up to date.
• Voting in the Commons is formally called a division.
• House of Lords - all new law have to be approved by both Houses of Parliament.
• Peers are not paid a salary, though they can claim expenses. they are not elected and do not represent constituencies. they are not allowed to vote on changes to taxation and finance. They never have the final word, though the government may sometimes choose to compromise.
• Green paper to White paper. First reading - second reading - commitee stage - report stage - third reading - house of lords - consideration of lords ammendments - royal assent.
• Nearly 750 people are now etitled to sit in the upper house.
• Life lords do not carry their title on to their children, (Sir Sugar)
• Unions representworkers.
• Party funding subscriptions frm members. Donations from the wealth donor, state funding.
• Parties rely heavily on wealthy donors. Lead to claims of cash for honours - Lord George sold them openly.
• Ashcroft - billionaire putting money in to the conservative party - marginal constituencies.
• Scrutiny - regulation - 3 types - regulation of private sector bodies - FSA - regulation of recently privatized industries - monopoly - regulation of public sector.
• Claims of "Nanny State" "red tape"
• Statuatory bodies established, regulated by parliament
• Ofgem - gas and electric
• Ofcom - communications
• Both maintain low prices and make sure the customer is looked after.

PLANNING

• Green - never been developed on
• Brown - some development
• Belt - protected round big cities
• NIMBY -Not in my back yard. "Towna nd Country Planning"
• Planners need to balance the need for new services/developments while still ensuring they are supported by appropriate infrastructure - roads. bus routes, leisure facilities.
• Planning also considered whether the new project is sustainable.
• Development must be appropriate land - not subject to flooding etc GREENFIELD, BROWNFIELD, GREENBELT
• These conditions are covered by the Towna nd Country Planning code - consolidates all the developments which arose as part of various acts: Town and Counry Planning Act 1947.
• A called in planning application means that John Denham wants to deal with it personally.
• 60% of RDA are local councillors 40% are appointed.
• IPC is not elected they can do what they want.
• CPO - Compulsory Purchase Order.

DEVOLUTION

• Remove some power from the Central Government and give it regions.
• Referendums - voting directly on policies.
• Constitution - guideline for rules
• Manifesto - each parties promises if they come in to power.
• Commonwealth - parts that used to be part of the Empire and still are now.
• Scotland Act of Unioln 1707 - following disastrous attempt to set up a colony in Central America. England and Scotland formed the United Kingdom of Great Britain.
• Act of union in Ireland 1801
• 1916 Rebellion - War of INdependence - 1922 Irish free state established (later the Republic of Ireland) Northern Ireland chose to remain in the UK.
• 1920's and 30's Nationalists parties, Plaid Cymru (Welsh Party) Scottish National party (SNP) were formed in order to campign for Independence.
• 1972 Northern Ireland parliament was suspended and abolished the following year in favour of direct rule from Westminster.
• 1972 Labour won the general election - their manifesto pledged to have refendums on devolution in Scotland and Wales.
• 1998 Devolution referendums in Scotland and Wales produced 'Yes' votes. The Good Friday Agreement resulted in the setting up of the Northern Ireland Assembly and power sharing executive.
• 2007 following several suspensions of devolution the Northern Ireland Assembly and executive were restored in Northern Ireland.
• Reserved powers vs devolved powers.
• Resetved: criminal jusitce, police, justice, national minimum wage and financial services and amrkets.
• Scotland has its own legal system. Scottish parliament is responsible for health, education, justice, the environment, rural affairs and transport.
• The Scottish parliament has limited tax - raising powers: it can rasie or lower the baisc rate of income tax by up to 3 pence in the pound.
• West Lothian Question - english MP's cant vote on matters of the Scottish government but scottish MP's are allowed to vote on Engliah policies.
• Wales after 2006 - the Welsh Assembly could pass primary legislation. It's responsiblefor education, trasnport, health, the environment etc.

HOUSING

• Start of the 20th Century needed proper housing to avoid over crowding, poor sanitation (disease)
• Between the wars "homes fit for heroes" programme began the clearing of slums. new planned estates were built in their place.
• After WW2 - the Blitz ad created huge sites in urban areas for new housing. whole new towns also began to be built - such as Stevenage.
• 1950's Baby boom - huge demand for housing and post war slums, prefabs cleared away using compulsory purchse orders for new housing developmetns. but due to the pressure on space the planners decided to build up - tower blocks.
• More new towns were created in the 1960's such as Milton Keynes. These has good infrastructure and were mainly 2 or 3 storey houses.
• Every local authority maintains its own stock of social housing.
• COUNCIL TENANTS
• Advantages - security of tenure - no deposit - rent set below market average - right to buy home at a discount - housing register (housing waiting list)
• The homelessness act 20902 introduced a points system to prioritze applicants
• Reasonable preferance under 2002 act: unintentionally homeless people living in unsanitary/overcrowded housing, need to move on health or welfare grounds, home needed in certain area, child in local school.
• General criteria - does person live in the area? does person have a good tenancy rating? their time on the register.
• Some councils disqualify certain people from applying for scoial housing.
• Councils are responsible for repairs and improvements on social housing.
• Thaterite housing policy
• Conservatives elected 1979 - right to buy - 5 million council tenants were given the chance to buy their homes on a discount price (50%)
• Between 1980 and 1995 a total of 2.1 million were bought by tenants - since then social housing has been sold off at a rate of about 60,000 a year.
• Thatcher said that the right to buy was the biggest step towards a home owning democracy ever taken/ and the transfer of property from the state to the individual.
• Government made about£33 billion from the scheme.
• Remainder of social housing was gradually transferred to not for profit housing associations.
• 1961 - 44% own homes
• 2006 - 70% own homes.
• HOMELESS
• It's local authorities duty to house the homeless within 28 days of being made aware. Under the housing act 1977.
• Councils are often forced to use short stay hostels and bedsits.
• Housing benefits - 2 types - standard housing benefits - paid to those on low incomes - certifies housing benefits - paid to those on job seekers allowance, income support or incapacity benefit.

I hope this ok an dmost of it is right.