What is democracy?
Through being able to vote you can influence what happens locally, nationally and in Europe. In a democracy all citizens have one vote each and equal political rights.
At what age can I vote?
In the UK you have to be 18 or over to vote and you have to be on the register of electors for the area in which you live or are registered. If you want to stand as a candidate in any election for local government, national government or the European parliament you must be 21 or over.
How many levels of government are there?
In Wealden there are four, plus Europe.
Who makes up these tiers of Government?
People who put themselves forward for any election are called ‘Candidates’ and if they are successful in an election then they either become ‘Councillors’ if they have been elected to one of the three levels of local government or a Member of Parliament (MP) if they win a national election. In the European elections, if successful, they become a Member of the European Parliament (MEP).
The people who work for and are paid to administer the work of each level of local government are generally known as local government officers or at a national level, civil servants.
Is it all political?
It is difficult not to get political and there are a number of active political parties in this country. Political parties are made-up of people with similar political views, that doesn’t mean that they all agree all the time about everything, but they believe in certain basic principles. Find out more about the four key political parties in this country:
Some candidates stand at an election, especially at the more local levels without any affiliation to a political party and these candidates are generally classed as :
How often are elections held?
At all three levels of local government, elections are held every four years. The next election for Wealden and the town and parish councils will be held in May 2007. The next election for East Sussex County Council will be in May 2009. Elections for the national government (general Election) must occur every five years, but it is up to the Government in power when they decide to hold these, within the five year period. Elections to the European Parliament occur every five years, the next election being in 2009.
What do they all do?
The list of tasks each level of government undertake is enormous and to get a full list you will need to visit their own websites. But here is a summary: they all have the power to raise money from citizens; either through the Council Tax (parish and town councils, Wealden District Council and East Sussex County Council) or Central Government through Income Tax, VAT or other indirect taxes. Each national government which belongs to the European Union pays a lump sum of money to Europe.
Each of these levels of Government then spend the money they get from local residents, businesses and taxpayers to run the local area / state. The priorities for spending will vary depending on which political party is in power. At the three local government levels much of the spending will be on implementing laws made by the national government.
Parish and town councils work, as their name suggests, at a very local level, they will control and manage any land or buildings owned by them like playing fields, recreation grounds and cemeteries etc. They may organise events locally. They also act as a voice for local residents on things like planning applications affecting the local area.
Wealden District Council undertake a number of tasks including, planning, refuse collection, recycling, street cleaning, environmental health, housing, running elections for all the tiers of government and collection of the council tax for all levels of local government.
East Sussex County Council undertake things like, local education provision, social services, libraries, roads maintenance and disposal of rubbish.
The national government are involved in things at a national level like the NHS, national security, immigration, foreign policy, the environment, employment policy etc. etc.
Europe gets involved in things which affect more than one country and on a larger scale, although the laws it passes can also affect things locally, for example laws on cross border trading.
If I am under 18 can I get involved in any way?
Yes you can. Did you know that there is a Youth Parliament and that Wealden has two Members of the Youth Parliament (MYP). In addition there are two deputies. You may well have voted for one of them.
The MYP for Lewes and Upper Wealden: Craig Smith, aged 16 from Lewes and the deputy is Sam Long, aged 16 from Crowborough.
The MYP for Eastbourne and Lower Wealden: Jamie Findon, aged 15 from Eastbourne and the deputy is Oliver Windsor, aged 13 from Willingdon.
In addition there is an East Sussex County Council Youth Cabinet. This group of young people act as advisors and they also lobby the County Council on behalf of young people.
If you would like more information on the UK Youth Parliament then click here.
At a more local level there are also opportunities to get involved in your parish or town, many have youth councils who are active in their local area. Contact your local parish or town council for more details.
Anything else?
Yes. Politics and government get involved with your life and the things you do. Make it your business to get in the know about these things. And of course when you get the opportunity to vote, USE IT. There are many countries in the world where residents are not allowed to vote.
