“The only active political party in the area!”
Distributing Focus leaflets last weekend I handed one to an elector I had not met before. He looked at it before commenting, “Ah, Liberal Democrats. The only active political party in the area.”
As you might guess, I was pleased with this response and looking forward to confirmation that this was an as yet unrecognised supporter. I was less encouraged by his next comment, however, which was “What’s the point?”
He went on to explain how he felt that having the unitary council forced upon us despite our local “referendum” was having the powers that be “spit in the face of democracy”.
I don’t know whether he and his partner, deeply concerned about whether Belle Vue will get built on when the new sports centre is built, will vote in the May election. If they do, I don’t know who they’ll vote for.
What I do, know, though, is that unless local political parties connect with people and allow them to feel that they can have an influence over what happens in their communities, local government will lose all pracical and moral authority. It’s a serious challenge.
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