“Be you never so high, the Law is above you.”Dr Thomas Fuller, 1733 (and others)No sooner had Phil Woolas been stripped of his Parliamentary seat than politicians and the media started questioning whether it was right for judges to overturn the people’s choice. Democracy in danger? It is a fair question but one with anContinueContinue reading “Playing the Poll Card”
Category Archives: Local Government
Killing Community, Killing Democracy
Cornish patriots are gathering today beneath the Tamar Bridge at Saltash to protest against the Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Bill. There is even serious talk of hunger strikes. What is it that has brought this on?The Bill paves the way for a referendum next May on replacing First-Past-The-Post with the Alternative Vote system. SoContinueContinue reading “Killing Community, Killing Democracy”
Mortgaging Democracy
“Will the Tamar Bridge be sold?” That was the question posed by the Western Morning News earlier this month. And not just the bridge. Torquay’s Torre Abbey was mentioned too, though in both cases the relevant local councils denied any sale plans.Gordon Brown’s announcement that he plans to sell off our public assets was, theContinueContinue reading “Mortgaging Democracy”
Elected Mayors – An Afterword
It’s been an interesting week for local democracy. Last Wednesday, Doncaster’s elected mayor, Martin Winter, was seen doing his best to avoid giving an interview to BBC2’s Newsnight. Then on Friday the elected mayor of Stoke-on-Trent, Mark Meredith, was arrested on suspicion of corruption. Stoke is the city that has already voted to scrap itsContinueContinue reading “Elected Mayors – An Afterword”
Hands Off Our History!
On Monday a letter appeared in the Bristol Evening Post advocating a radical overhaul of local government in Wessex, linking this with the name of our Party. The proposal was to sweep away both districts and counties in favour of Jacobin-style ‘cantons’:“the Canton of Oxford would include much of Berkshire, parts of Buckinghamshire and partsContinueContinue reading “Hands Off Our History!”
Wessex Regionalists 