A look at the role and responsibilities of local authorities in the UK, the workings of Westminster, different electoral systems and democracies around the world.

As the first anniversary of Boris Johnson\'s election as Mayor of London approaches, Dispatches takes a look at his first 11 months in office to find out where he is taking the nation\'s capital in the build-up to the 2012 Olympics.

Over a compelling and turbulent year, film-maker Michael Waldman gains privileged access to the strange, secretive and fascinating world of British diplomats.

Keeping power and influence is the priority task of Sir Simon Macdonald, the permanent secretary - the chief civil servant - in a Foreign Office headed, for the moment, by foreign secretary Boris Johnson. Politicians may come and go, but civil servants remain. We follow the diplomats as they wrestle with a series of crises and challenges.

In this second episode, we join the Europe director Caroline Wilson with Boris Johnson on their whistlestop tour from RAF Northolt to Lisbon and Paris.

The way most Britons come into contact with the Foreign Office is when they get into trouble overseas. We follow three diplomats as they try to aid Brits who unexpectedly find themselves in serious trouble on the other side of the world.