How the UK and Scotland is governed

There are several tiers of governing bodies in the UK and Europe from the Local Council to European Parliament, below follows a brief explanation of each and links. In understanding elections it is important to remember that UK/Scottish Parliaments represents the people and therefore are elected and the UK/Scottish Government runs the country and reports to Parliament. 

• Local Government
• Scottish Parliament
• Scottish Government
• UK Parliament (Westminster)
• UK Government
• Scotland Office
• European Parliament
• UK Office of the European Parliament

Local Government

Local Government (Local Authorities or Councils) have an impact on everyone's day to day life. In Scotland there are 32 unitary Local Authorities. In Moray this is The Moray Council. Councils are responsible for delivery of essential public services in local areas. Moray is represented by 26 councillors across 8 wards which are led by the Convenor of the Council.

Local government in Scotland is represented by the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA).

Find out more about Local Government Elections
Find out more about Councillors
Go to COSLA – Website 
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Scottish Parliament

The Scottish Parliament formed in 1999 debates topical issues, scrutinises Bills and passes laws on devolved matters affecting Scotland. It also scrutinises the work and policies of the Scottish Government.

Based at Holyrood, Edinburgh, it is made up of 129 elected Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSP's) composing 73 Constituency MSP’s and 56 Regional MSP’s.

Find out more about Scottish Parliament Elections
Go to Scottish Parliament – website
Go to Holyrood TV - website

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Scottish Government

The Scottish Government (formerly known as the Scottish Executive or the Scottish Office) is the devolved government for Scotland. It develops and implements policy, and is accountable to the Scottish Parliament. It is responsible for many issues, including health, education, justice, rural affairs and transport.

Scottish Government is led by the First Minister (Alex Salmond), who is nominated by the Scottish Parliament, who then appoints his Cabinet Secretaries and Ministers. The Scottish Government is made up of about 18 MSP’s from the party with the majority of seats.

Go to Scottish Government – website  

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UK Parliament (Westminster)

UK Parliament has responsibility for checking the work of UK Government and examining, debating and approving new laws and also on decision about reserved matters such as Defence, Foreign Affairs, National Security, Energy, Trade and Industry.

Parliament consists of three parts the Monarch being the Queen and two chambers being the House of Commons, consisting of 659 members of parliament (MP’s) who are elected, and the House of Lords, consisting of 675 unelected peers. MP’s are elected to parliament during a General Election and become your representative for your area, known as constituency. Each MP is a usually a member of one of the political parties or an independent candidate.

See more information about UK Parliament (General) Elections
Go to UK Parliament – website
Go to UK Parliament TV - website 

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UK Government

The government is responsible for the running of the country and reports to the Parliament.

The political party that wins the most seats available in a general election forms the new government, led by their party leader - who becomes Prime Minister (Gordon Brown)
Government ministers are chosen from MPs and Lords in Parliament. Ministers in charge of government departments are usually in the Cabinet, the most senior government ministers led by the Prime Minister.

Go to UK Government – Website
Go to Cabinet Office – Website

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Scotland Office

The Scotland Office, headed by the Secretary of State for Scotland (Des Browne)  who is a member of the Cabinet. The Scotland Office is part of the Ministry of Justice and represents Scotland’s interests at Westminster. It is headed by the by Secretary of State for Scotland who promotes the devolution settlement and to act as guardian of it. He promotes partnership between the respective Governments and between the two Parliaments.

Go to Scotland Office – website

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European Parliament

Working in Brussels and Strasbourg, the European Parliament is the only directly-elected body of the European Union and scrutinises the activities of other EU institutions, passes the annual EU budget, and shapes and decides new legislation jointly with the Council of Ministers.

The work of the European Parliament is important because in many policy areas, decisions on new European laws are made jointly by Parliament and the Council of Ministers, which represents Member States.

The European Parliament is the democratically elected body whose 732 members (MEP’s) are elected every five years from 27 member states. They are led by the President of the European Parliament, Hans-Gert Pöttering and the European Cabinet.

Go to the European Parliament – website 
More about the European Union – website

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UK Office of the European Parliament

The European Parliament has office(s) in the UK which exist to provide information to the public, media, government, regional agencies and the business community about the activities of the European Parliament and the European Union.

The European Parliament's United Kingdom Office(s) are based in London with a smaller office in Edinburgh.

Go to UK Office of the European Parliament - website 

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