Who governs Britain - Democracy in action? Directly Elected Mayors in England
Over the past decade and a half in Britain, citizens have been consulted by referenda on questions of devolution, the office of Mayor of London (1997), directly elected mayors (2002-2012) and, more recently, the voting system (2012). The office of Mayor has a long-standing history in Britain. What i...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Université de Poitiers
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| Series: | Cahiers du MIMMOC |
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| Online Access: | https://journals.openedition.org/mimmoc/2288 |
| Summary: | Over the past decade and a half in Britain, citizens have been consulted by referenda on questions of devolution, the office of Mayor of London (1997), directly elected mayors (2002-2012) and, more recently, the voting system (2012). The office of Mayor has a long-standing history in Britain. What is new is the manner in which some are now elected and the significance this office has taken on with the changes in their electoral legitimacy. This paper examines the debates about the advantages and disadvantages of directly electing mayors and on the nature of democracy and the reliability of democratic institutions in Britain. It also analyses reasons for the relative successes and failures of the changes introduced, looking in particular at the scale at which direct democracy can operate. |
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| ISSN: | 1951-6789 |