tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6636667195540919897.post4305908690393385172..comments2023-06-06T12:28:36.360+01:00Comments on GREEN ON THE OUTSIDE RED TO THE CORE: A SUMMER OF DISCONTENTAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15051530490965644662noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6636667195540919897.post-52273767538069329372012-07-09T14:35:36.312+01:002012-07-09T14:35:36.312+01:00Liam, Perhaps I owe some of our officers an apolo...Liam, Perhaps I owe some of our officers an apology, as you point it is not all of their fault and many do try to uphold a decent standard of Local Government Service, however too may at the top find it convenient to simply hide behind the lack of democracy and use that as a shield against either criticism of the service or change. Therefore for those reading I agree with Liam that it is not fair to blame all of you, and you must decide yourself which side of the divide you sit on?Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15051530490965644662noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6636667195540919897.post-46470035231282947482012-07-09T12:09:12.904+01:002012-07-09T12:09:12.904+01:00John, Is your space bar defunct?John, Is your space bar defunct?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6636667195540919897.post-18554690766696369622012-07-09T10:21:06.129+01:002012-07-09T10:21:06.129+01:00Liam,Much of what you say is correct,but because o...Liam,Much of what you say is correct,but because of the shrinkage there is a growing interchange between for instance the 'political' leadership and those who head the structures.Think of the number of MP's who started out as political assistants or Spads,and then were found seats by the party machine.Think of the number of chosen sons and daughters who are parachuted into 'safe' seats,even though they might never have visited the constituency before,but because the machine wants them in place.<br />Why? Because of course they are poodles who crave power without a single idea in their heads.And what is true in parliament is happening more and more in local government too.Regional party bosses are picking local council candidates.It has even reached the stage where the Tory candidate for Police Commissioner started life as a political assistant to Jim Harker on NCC,progressed to senior post on NCC counting paperclips, and now will sack Chief Constables!<br />You couldn't make up the degeneration of the political system.John Dickienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6636667195540919897.post-77879612595507311162012-07-09T09:49:27.219+01:002012-07-09T09:49:27.219+01:00I think, if my memory serves me well, that it was ...I think, if my memory serves me well, that it was the Italian political philosopher Mocha that put forward the theory that "an organised minority will always triumph over a disorganised majority", which is why the political parties with only 1% of support hold 99% of the power in this country.<br /><br />There are a number of consequences of that declining membership. One is that they have a shrinking pool of talent from which to select their candidates, and secondly it leads to a situation where the political parties have to arm twist people into standing for election so that they don't lose face by being unable to field candidates in every ward. Some of the hapless fools even manage to get elected much to their surprise.<br /><br />I disagree that it is the officer class that is undermining the role of the elected councillor. It is the way that the system has been changed to concentrate more and more power in the hands of fewer and fewer politicians who have been selected from a shrinking pool of talent that is to blame. The 'chosen few' politicians that reach to top of the heap have no confidence in their own ability and decision making, so they seek to control any semblance of critical challenge or opposition by information censorship. In Northamptonshire County Council we now have an elected dictatorship which is very unhealthy, and Northampton Borough Council seems to be heading the same way with the cabinet refusing to meet in public. Officers are just doing their political masters bidding so I don’t think that it is fair to blame them. <br /><br />Democracy is in a bad place at the moment. It would be good to break the back of the party political system, but no matter how badly they behave or perform, the public still vote for them because they are more organised than us independents.Liam Costellonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6636667195540919897.post-54608363583648161802012-07-07T07:45:33.350+01:002012-07-07T07:45:33.350+01:00A study into the state of democracy in Britain ove...A study into the state of democracy in Britain over the last decade warns it is in "long-term terminal decline" as the power of corporations keeps growing, politicians become less representative of their constituencies and disillusioned citizens stop voting or even discussing current affairs.<br /><br />Results of the last local Election (Thursday 5 May 2011) show turnout in some Wards of less than 30% i.e. Castle 28.79%, Obelisk 28.88%, St Davids 29.09%<br /><br />What happened on Big Brother last night….Northamptonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10891093298354814215noreply@blogger.com