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| DON'T YER JUST LOVE TAMESIDE DEMOCRACY? |
In a letter
published in this week’s paper, a reader suggested that it would be a
devaluation of local democracy if the council took up the Tory suggestion, that
to save money, they should reduce the number of ward councillors from 57 to 38!
Personally,
I would suggest that in order to devalue democracy, first we must have
democracy!
As far as Tameside council is concerned, with its current voting system of rolling councillors, all we have is democracy by instalments.
How can Tameside council be called democratic, when it has been under one party control for going on 40 years?
How can Tameside council be democratic, when nearly 70% of those eligible to vote, don't, because they know nothing will change? - Democracy by apathy.
Nothing Changes because of the council is virtually guaranteed power by the 'staggered' ward voting system. - Democracy in instalments.
How can it be democratic when all 52 Labour councillors are compelled to return a percentage of their 'allowances' (Those that we pay them out of taxation) to a election fighting fund? This means that Labour councillors can easily afford to swamp any ward under threat of change with a commando force of door-knockers, leaflet stuffers and campaigners. -Democracy in action.
The only way 'democracy could return to Tameside, would be if we insisted that the current voting system be changed to one election every four years on a 'all out' basis and introduce a fixed term (12 years max) for all councillors.
Do you realise there are councillors sitting on our council who have been there for over 30 years! - Is this because they are proactive and 'community focused' or such valued members of the talent pool, that they are irreplaceable; or could it be that they have never rocked the boat by questioning the leadership? They've been rewarded for always toeing the line and remaining supine?
Among these are people who over the years have become so comfortable in their unchallenged positions that they appear at times to have woefully failed to represent the electorate when dealing with controversial issues; especially those who question council decisions.
As far as Tameside council is concerned, with its current voting system of rolling councillors, all we have is democracy by instalments.
How can Tameside council be called democratic, when it has been under one party control for going on 40 years?
How can Tameside council be democratic, when nearly 70% of those eligible to vote, don't, because they know nothing will change? - Democracy by apathy.
Nothing Changes because of the council is virtually guaranteed power by the 'staggered' ward voting system. - Democracy in instalments.
How can it be democratic when all 52 Labour councillors are compelled to return a percentage of their 'allowances' (Those that we pay them out of taxation) to a election fighting fund? This means that Labour councillors can easily afford to swamp any ward under threat of change with a commando force of door-knockers, leaflet stuffers and campaigners. -Democracy in action.
The only way 'democracy could return to Tameside, would be if we insisted that the current voting system be changed to one election every four years on a 'all out' basis and introduce a fixed term (12 years max) for all councillors.
Do you realise there are councillors sitting on our council who have been there for over 30 years! - Is this because they are proactive and 'community focused' or such valued members of the talent pool, that they are irreplaceable; or could it be that they have never rocked the boat by questioning the leadership? They've been rewarded for always toeing the line and remaining supine?
Among these are people who over the years have become so comfortable in their unchallenged positions that they appear at times to have woefully failed to represent the electorate when dealing with controversial issues; especially those who question council decisions.
No matter what
your political bias, both the parliamentary party and the party at local level
are undemocratic organisations, centrally controlled by a minority caucus.
Take a look
at the make-up of our local council officers. Under Labour, the management
grades of the public sector filled up with the faithful; now in senior
positions and able to hire and fire, they have a vested interest in making the coalition
Government look bad while hanging on to their cosy jobs and fat pensions.
It’s the same
with the 57 councillors. I suggest its vested interests, rather than a genuine
desire to protect ‘local democracy’, that sees the majority of these career
councillors clinging like grim death to their seats.
It should
come as no surprise to anyone who has had the misfortune of having to deal with
Tameside Council's Senior Officers who lacking in both vision and values have
comprehensively failed the citizens of Tameside.
The primary
concern of these ‘Elite Officers’ is self-advancement; they operate within a
culture of collective self-preservation that obviates constructive challenge
and creativity in either forming policy or implementing practical solutions.
We must
thank God that the majority of the council's services (well at least those that
haven’t yet been sold off to the private sector) are delivered by a core of
committed public servants who have not forgotten that the council exists to
serve its citizens and not the reverse.
That is why
the job losses are bound to come disproportionately from the front line,
leaving a depleted staff to carry out the work while an idle tier of management
occupy themselves with pointless meetings and away-days at public expense.
While I know
several newly-redundant clerks, administrators and librarians, I've yet to hear
of an unemployed Chief Executive.
Interesting what you say about redundancies in Tameside. A few weeks before the council destroyed the best little museum I have seen in a long time (Setantii) I visited it and got talking to a member of staff in the foyer. Now I cannot vouch for what he told me, but he told me something that seems to sum up the attitude of this profligate council.
ReplyDeleteHe asked me if I knew how many cleaners there were in the town hall. I didn't, so he told me. The answer is three.
He then asked me if I knew how many cleaning managers there were in the town hall to oversee these three cleaners. Again, I didn't know and again, he told me. The astonishing answer was three!!!!
Yes, if his story is true, Tameside Council actually employ a manager for every cleaner. Make sense of those economics if you can!