I think that the most important level of Government is Central Government because it is the government at the level of the nation-state; it is normally located at the Capital City. Sticking to national security and exercising international diplomacy, this includes having the right to sign binding treaties; this is one of many responsibilities that the Central Government have to do. This system of administration operates nationally and deals with matters that affect the whole country. Central Government has power to grant and make laws for the whole country, where as local government only have the power to deal with issues that only affect some parts of the country. The central government of the UK is based at the Palace of Westminster in London. It contains the major central political institutions of the UK. The Central Government has very specific responsibilities that no other level of government has to deal with they are: * Signing treaties or agreements with other nations, * Making laws, * Defending the nation.
In my opinion the European Union has the next level of power in the Government. The EU is an organization created in 1993, with the aim of achieving loser economic and political union between the member states that are in the European Community. Also it is an economic and political union of 736 members and 27 member states that are located in Europe some of these are: Austria Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany and a lot more. The EU has 23 official languages. The EU has become one of the largest producers in the world, but it is not actually part of the UK levels of government. The role of the Parliament is to draft legislation that has an impact across all the EU states on issues such as: * The environment, * Equal opportunities, * Transport, * Consumer rights, * Movement of workers and goods.
Next in level of importance I would put the Devolved Assemblies. UK Devotion created a national Parliament in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. This process transfers levels of the power in the UK Parliament. Devolution is a process whereby power is transferred from a centralised government organisation to a regional organisation. Devolution consists of three elements: * The transfer of power to another elected body that is lower down the chain of authority, * The geographical move of power from one city to another, * The transfer of roles and responsibilities of government from central to regional assemblies.
Advantages of the Devolved Assemblies are: * Regional assemblies can reflect and take into account cultural and linguistic differences between the region and central government, * Regional assemblies are more in touch with the needs of their people; laws will be fairer and more readily accepted by the people.
Disadvantages are: * Regional assemblies lack the decision-making experience or central government, * Regional assemblies may conflict with central government, * Low voter turnout in devolution referendums suggests a lack of popular support for regional assemblies.
I think next is the European Parliament. The European Parliament is not strictly part of the UK levels of Government; it has a significant impact on the EU (European Union), citizens and their Public Services. The Parliament has 736 members who represent all 27 member states of the EU. There are 72 that are directly elected from the UK and are there to represent the interests of our country. The role of the Parliament is to draft legislation that has an impact across all the EU states on issues such as: * The Environment, * Equal opportunities * Transport, * Consumer rights, * Movement of workers and goods.
Advantages of European Parliament are: * Being part of a large supranational organisation means that a country has a greater influence with world affairs, as they both