REAL Democracy!

Well, I got quite excited tonight. I like being a Councillor - I like the fact that I can make a difference with issues that people have, and I like belonging to the Labour group - they're a decent bunch and it's nice to have an ideological bond with people!

However, that aside, I sometimes get frustrated in meetings when people start talking about issues that any amount of talk isn't going to change. When people start indulging in the yah-boo politics that is undoubtedly influenced by the poor coverage we get of Westminster (and Prime Minister's Question Time in particular).

So, tonight was exciting, because we put forward an amendment (only a minor one), and one that my colleague Geoff Gay spoke on really well. The council's constitution was to be updated, and part of this was renaming the Plans Committee the Development Management Committee. Geoff's argument (and quite rightly) was that this was an unnecessary moniker change, as it took away a layer of accessibility and understanding between the public and the Council. As I said only a minor amendment, but an important point about making sure people understood what they were engaging with.

So, there was some to-ing and fro-ing, with front bench Tories arguing about needing the change from an internal point of view (they failed to grasp that this was about common sense and maintaining a degree of connection with what the public understand).

Geoff then demanded a public vote, and the amendment was carried thanks to a unanimous vote from our side (Lib Dems included) and 7 brave Tories! Why did I get so excited about this? Because, for the first time it felt like we'd influenced something! It felt like democracy was actually doing what it's supposed to be doing - genuine debate bringing a genuine decision rather than the Punch and Judy style that we often see.

Perhaps I'm being a little idealistic, but I'd much rather see a genuine debate than attempts at point scoring and snideness. Maybe, if the leaders of our political parties focussed on solid policy rather than point scoring then maybe we would see a far improved level of genuine democratic engagement? DOn't get me wrong, a large part of my enjoyment of the evening came from watching the Tories squirm and watch them realise they'd lost the vote, but when people are prepared to debate, consider and talk properly ... maybe that's what's needed?