The counties and the capital
Four nations, one capital, and the layers of government in between.
The United Kingdom is a union of four nations: England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Power is shared between them in layers, and understanding which layer does what is the first step to understanding the country.
Three of the four nations have their own legislatures. The Scottish Parliament sits in Edinburgh, the Senedd in Cardiff Bay, and the Northern Ireland Assembly at Stormont in Belfast. Each makes laws on devolved matters: health, education and transport among them.
The Senedd is the youngest of the three in its current form. Its ninety-six Members meet in plenary, usually on Tuesday and Wednesday afternoons in sitting weeks, in a chamber built to be seen: glass walls, a public gallery, and proceedings open to all.
The layers overlap, and they are meant to.
England has no parliament of its own. The Westminster Parliament, which is sovereign for the whole United Kingdom, legislates for England in both reserved matters, such as defence and foreign affairs, and in matters devolved elsewhere.
London is governed as a region. Greater London has a directly elected Mayor, who sets strategy for transport, policing, housing and the environment, and a twenty five member London Assembly, fourteen elected for constituencies and eleven London-wide, which scrutinises the Mayor's decisions.
The Assembly's tools are public. Its plenary meetings, Mayor's Question Time and committee hearings are open, with agendas and minutes published, so any Londoner can watch the capital's government at work.
Below the region sit the boroughs: thirty two London borough councils delivering the services of daily life, from schools to refuse collection, alongside the ancient City of London, the Square Mile, with its own corporation.
Beyond London the map is older. Historic counties survive in names and loyalties, while modern administration runs through unitary authorities and county councils. The counties are the country beyond the capital: its towns, its countryside, its industry.
The layers overlap, and they are meant to. Devolution gives the nations their voice, London its mayor, and the counties their councils, while Westminster keeps the sovereignty of the whole.
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