Drawing on surveys of citizens as well as on interviews with local leaders in France and Britain, this book looks at participation in day-to-day local politics in both countries. The work is less concerned with voting than with spheres of action—particularly the extent to which people contact their local representatives about problems, complain to officials, form groups, and protest decisions. The salient differences between the two local government systems, both of which have experienced significant changes in recent decades, is explored. A series of case studies examines levels of individual and group political participation, the mobilization of people into single issue protest groups, the links between councillors and the local electorate, and the importance of the local context to participation patterns.