London Mayoral Election

Oh dear, although we do have a laugh here, as it seems to be a case of the Mad Hatter's Tea Party, they shuffle round and take turns being Mayor. We have a Labour one at the moment (just a small Council, not the County Council).

Interesting daphnedil, the elections are in between the election for London Mayor:

www.londoncouncils.gov.uk/who-runs-london/london-elections/how-elections-work
There is a link to the elected mayoral system too

I thought the votes for the London Assembly happened last Thursday as well. Three of the candidates for the mayor were elected.

Yes, I knew there was something else
www.london.gov.uk/about-us/london-assembly/about-london-assembly

it gets more complicated than ever.

Assembly meetings are open to the public. Has anyone been to one?

So there's no all-London political body? Have I got that right?

I live in a shire county and I would imagine the system is similar in other similar counties.

We have either two or three tier local government.

The County Council is the biggest. The county is divided into different areas and we vote for our County Councillor. Nearly all of them are Conservatives, because it's a first past the post system. They don't poll the majority of votes, so the majority of people are unrepresented. They decide the cabinet positions and leader amongst themselves.

Then we have Borough Councils or District Councils. It's still first past the post, but the wards are smaller and so there is a greater diversity of councillors. Again the cabinet and leader are decided by the majority party although they're a bit more democratic about handing out working party leads.

Borough Councils don't have Parish or Town Councils, but the District Councils do. I live in a town, so we have a Town Council, which at the moment is dominated by independents. We have a mayor, who is the most senior councillor, and is a ceremonial role. At the moment we have a female mayor (the first in her own right as mayor), who does a brilliant job, turning out in her full garb for all sorts of charity events.

There is much more democracy in the Parish and Town councils than in the District and County Councils, who seem very distant and unresponsive. As for the Chief Crime Person (or whatever he's called)...... ;-(

We had 3/4 votes last Thursday - 2 for the mayor ( 1st and 2nd preference), 1 vote for the London Assembly which is a sort of London - wide council which the mayor is answerable to, sits at city hall, and one for our local council, all on different coloured papers. All a bit confusing. 4 councils in London also have elected mayors, including the one I live in, separate elections - a complete waste of time - I did go to City Hall once when Ken was there it was a hoot, there was some big event going on outside . Goodness knows how anything got done it was Hilarious.

The London Assembly is London wide, daphne.
That's the one that holds the Mayor to account.
There are two different sorts of assembly members, some voted on by area, and others by party lists.

Thanks. I understand now. Does the London Assembly have any real power?

Now here is a post a friend sent to me today- out of interest:

"A CHRISTIAN COULD NEVER BE ELECTED MAYOR IN A MUSLIM CITY!"

Since Sadiq Khan's election as Mayor of London, many people seem to be suggesting that no Muslim city would ever be open-minded enough to elect a Christian as mayor.

So, in the interests of accuracy, and because FACTS ARE OUR FRIENDS, I present a list of some of the many Christians who have done just what Mr Khan has done - been elected to high office in Muslim countries where they are a religious minority:

* In 2005 Alees Salman became the first Christian and first woman to chair Bahrain's upper house of Parliament. Bahrain is 70% Muslim.

* Pakistan currently has a Christian minister of ports and shipping, Kamran Michael. Pakistan is 96.4% Muslim.

* The Turkish city of Mardin recently elected its first female Christian mayor, Februniye Akyol. Turkey is 96.5% Muslim.

* Boutros Boutros Ghali, a coptic Christian and former head of the UN, was Egypt's Foreign Minister for 14 years. Egypt is 90% Muslim.

* The capital of the world's most populous Muslim country, Indonesia, has a Christian governor, Basuki Tjahaya Purnama. Indonesia is 87.2% Muslim.

* Senegal had a Catholic president, Léopold Sédar Senghor, for 20 years. Senegal is 92% Muslim.

* Lebanon had a Christian president, Michel Suleiman, from 2008-2014. Lebanon is 54% Muslim.

* The mayor of Ramallah, the capital of Palestine, is Janet Mikhail, a Roman Catholic (thanks to Jason Faulkner for that one!).

******* BONUS ROUND!!!! *******

In Iran, five seats in parliament are reserved for recognised religious minorities - one for a Jew, two for Christians and two for Zoroastrians. That's right - Iran has to have a Jewish MP by law. They don't teach you THAT at Bigot School.

_________________________________

It is fantastic that London has resisted the tide of Islamophobia sweeping our culture to elect a mayor based on his policies and personal qualities, but let's not pretend that 'western' countries are the only places where religious minorities can be elected to office.

On the other hand, it would be irresponsible to suggest that no countries have restrictions on the religion of those who occupy public office. Some countries have laws explicitly stating that the Head of State must belong to one particular religion, a form of religious bigotry that is unacceptable in the 21st century.

One such country is Britain, where the law states that the monarch must be a Christian Protestant.

It looks like it to me. Look at Jalima's link.
Just imagine how much more damage Boris could have done if it hadn't controlled him.
Will the new London bridge still be built, does anyone know?

A British friend btw.

I suppose the monarch must be a Christian Protestant as Head of the Church of England and Defender of the Faith.
It would be difficult to fulfill that role if he/she were not.

Yes, but it is so outdatedand unfair, so is the large representation of CofE in the Lords. Prince Charles has said it very clearly, and CofE Archbishops too.
How crazy that 'the Faith' doesn't even include other Christians in this day and age- aand still explicitly exclude Catholics as the enemies of the State. I thought the First Elisabeth had got that sorted out a VERY long time ago.

www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2016/may/11/muslim-cleric-suliman-gani-sues-michael-fallon-claim-he-backed-isis

www.theguardian.com/politics/2016/may/14/sadiq-khan-thames-garden-bridge-boris-johnson-mayor-london

Sadiq Khan looking at the way Boris fiddled the procurement process for his friends.
I hope it gets stopped. That money would be better going into housing.

Good for Khan, hope he succeeds and it is pulled

The Guardian article does say that Sadiq Khan is not opposed in principle to the garden bridge but is concerned about the procurement process. That is, of course, an issue - the person appointed has only done one bridge but in the procurement process was apparently recorded as having "relevant design experience".

However, there are several other reasons why there is a great deal of opposition to this bridge being built at all.

There are many green spaces and large parks in central London (it is said to be the greenest city in Europe and the fifth greenest in the world) so there is no need for a garden bridge which will be very expensive to maintain - an estimated £3.5 million per year (and we all know that estimates rarely go down). Gardening experts have also questioned how the tree and plants are to be irrigated.

It is also to be sited in a space between two other bridges which are less than a 10 minute walk apart, and the proposed planting of trees is likely to obscure what is a wonderful unobstructed view towards St Paul's.

There are more than 30 prohibitions as to its use:
No running, no cycling, no music, no picnics, no groups of 8 or more, no visits after midnight, etc. etc. Names and addresses can be demanded of anyone who infringes any of these rules. It has been said that there will be queues to gain access and murmurs of a ticketing system being put in place.

For a bridge that is not really needed, it is an awful lot of money to spend when we are in the grips of an austerity regime, which has resulted in many public amenities in much less affluent areas of London and other parts of the country being closed. The total estimated budget is £175 million, with £30 million being provided by Transport for London and £30 million by the Treasury.

It was obviously an ego-trip for Boris.
Given what you say, Eloethan, I am surprised that Khan says he is not opposed to it in principle. I think he should be.

Yes I agree dj

no groups of 8 or more That's a WI visit out of the question then

and they might start singing

Well I am somewhat . at how this thread could invite yet another an instance of C of E bashing! (9 May, 21.24)
Never pass up an opportunity, eh?

Keep up, Alea. Not looking that far back.

Well pardon me for having other things to do in the interim. Must pencil in a window for checking GN every hour.