A look to the Greater London Council. A creative experience of local democracy

Abstract

This experience of local democracy has been so far the most ambitious European experiment in democratic/participatory governments. Influenced by the social movements of the seventies and leaded by the most critical left of the Labour Party, it brought alliances with the social movements to a conclusion, it gave autonomy to different groups -women, homosexual and ethnic groups - so that they could participate with freedom in the decisionmaking. With very limited competitions and an annual budget of 800 million pounds, the Greater London Council marked a milestone in the history of the relations between the social movements and the civil service.