The people have taken democracy into their own hands

For almost a year now I have been continuously inspired by the hard work of campaigners in Midsomer Norton to create their own Town Council. For years, there has been a growing dislike for Norton Radstock Town Council – an organisation that is increasingly out of touch with residents and has no public mandate to serve the community.

Last Spring, over 900 people in Midsomer Norton demonstrated their growing anger towards the current Town Council by returning a petition card calling for a Local Governance Review to take place. Later in the year, a further 700 people in Westfield signed a petition calling for the same for their area. That’s more than many B&NES Councillors get in their own elections!

These petitions and surveys were carried out by people who are passionate about the place they live in. By people who believe so strongly in local democracy that they’ll do anything to ensure that residents stay at the centre of our democratic system.

Not once, during the last 12 months, has our Labour MP helped or at all showed an interest in this matter, and it’s only recently (with a General Election just 8 weeks away) that he decided to call a public meeting – at 2pm on a Friday afternoon! This was only advertised in one local newspaper a week before the meeting was taking place.

As a local Councillor, I know how difficult it can be at times to encourage people and inspire them to feel passionate about their community. It isn’t something that happens overnight – it takes year of work and relationship building. To push in at the last minute and claim to have done a survey asking for residents views on the future of local democracy in Norton-Radstock is just cheap and tacky. Mr Norris claims in his column in last week's Somerset Guardian newspaper that he has had the lowest response ever to this survey. Did he deliver this survey to every house in Norton-Radstock? Did he put petitions in all the shops and businesses? No! He expected residents to take part in the survey on his website – which gives him the total freedom to decide which results to release to the public and press.

Ideally, as an MP serious about getting elected he should be encouraging residents to take part in the consultation by writing to B&NES. If residents want to keep the status quo, as does Dan Norris, they have every freedom to express that in their submissions to B&NES.

Dan needs to be reminded that a) it was his government that introduced Local Governance Reviews – so people can shape their own democratic future and b) all political parties, including Labour, voted in favour of the review at a B&NES Full Council meeting last year.

I agree that B&NES has dithered over when the consultation papers were to be sent out – but their recent arrival on door steps has nothing to do with any intervention by Dan Norris.

I really struggle to understand why Dan Norris doesn’t support the movement for change in Midsomer Norton, Westfield and Radstock. The only answer I can come up with is that it will finally end the unhealthy, undemocratic hold the Labour Party has on the current Town Council. Dan Norris has had many chances over the last 13 years to address this. He hasn’t, so the people have taken democracy into their own hands.