Liberal Democrats remove local referendums on any issue

[I&R ~ GB]

iniref <http://iniref.wordpress.com/>
Posted 10th November 2011 at 2:43 pm | Permalink
<http://www.libdemvoice.org/liberal-democrats-localism-bill-25853.html#comment-187923>


Regarding the Localism Bill, you claim that the LibDems were ”Promoting
local democracy”
<http://www.libdemvoice.org/liberal-democrats-localism-bill-25853.html>
but go on to admit that you helped to axe a major reform of our democracy.

“…. the proposals for non-binding local referendums on any issue were
also removed by Liberal Democrats. Although having the laudable aim of
improving democracy, in practice, they were open to hijack by extremist
groups on low turnouts, and would be very expensive for local
authorities, particularly at a time of economic constraint.”

The “citizens’ initiative” and right to demand referendum, removed from
the Bill in the House of Lords, with government agreement, was not meant
to replace local government by permanent direct democracy but to enable
people to raise issues neglected by councils and to propose a
veto-ballot for unwanted proposals. A substantial and valuable
improvement from the citizens’ perspective and regarding quality of
public governance. Repeated surveys have show strong public support:
your party risks losing votes because of this.

During the Bill’s passage through Parliament the design of the proposed
citizens’ referendum was criticised. The “blanket” hurdle of five
percent was said to be too low. This could have been changed, for
instance by raising the hurdle for small communities. The non-binding
nature of proposed referenda was said to be a negative feature — people
might regard the whole thing as a waste of time if councils could simply
ignore the citizens’ vote. So why not accept the amendment to make the
polls binding?

You raise “the risk of misuse by extreme groups” Extreme groups are
already able to organise and take part in elections. They have won
seats. This has not led us to abolish elections but many oppose
extremists by other means. Regarding citizen-instigated referendum, it
is nonsense to suggest that extremists could decide anything. It is the
electorate who decides in referendum. Even the “petition” for referendum
presents a difficult hurdle for a small group. Most people simply would
NOT sign up for extremist or malicious proposals. (Hurdles must be set
at an appropriate level: contact in...@iniref.org
<mailto:in...@iniref.org>). Reference to “the risk of misuse by extreme
groups” is scaremongering in order to ward off democracy reform.

You write that referenda “would be very expensive”. In comparison to
bailing out profligate bankers? Potential costs have often been raised
as a “bogeyman” by opponents of direct democracy. Where there is
citizen-instigated referendum public budgetting tends to be more
efficient. Also, referenda often lead to savings, by trimming expensive
council schemes or conserving valuable buildings. Also, democracy is
worth a lot! Central government could provide funds for local referenda
if need be.

The Conservative/Liberal-Democrat 2010 coalition agreement contains the
following clear statement, p. 27,

“We will give residents the power to instigate local referendums on any
local issue.”

What are the promises of our politicians worth?

Regards,
for

I&R ~ GB Citizens’ Initiative and Referendum
http://www.iniref.org/

--------------
*A REPLY TO*:


That’s the way to do it! How Liberal Democrats made the running on the
Localism Bill

By The Voice <http://www.libdemvoice.org/author/thevoice> | Published
9th November 2011 - 10:15 am

*Annette Brooke MP and Lord (Graham) Tope are the Lib Dem Co-Chairs of
the Parliamentary Policy Committee on Communities and Local Government,
and led the Lib Dem response to the Localism Bill. Here they outline
what they, working with colleagues in the party and many beyond, helped
achieve.*

[Maria]

Limp Dumbs? Undemocratic? Surely not!