Consultation is increasingly a bit of a sham. Yet democracy relies on it. The deeply held notion in some areas of public policy that consultation is in itself a problem is obviously a barrier, but there’s plenty been written on participation myths and I ain’t gonna expunge any here. But here’s a thought. To my mind too few, politicians and the public, appreciate the difference between gauging public opinion and gathering information that helps improve public policy decision-making.
Fight the proliferation of surveillance cameras. If you would like some advice on any of the below or would like to suggest another action then please do get in touch via the contact us link above.
* 1984 Action Day – 8th June 2014 – Date for your diary – take Part
My spies inform me that fissures are emerging in the local lab-con-lition over Dunbar’s long awaited Traffic Regulation Order (TRO).
Surely there can be no political dimension to the Traffic Regulation Order? Did the previous administration even approve it? Not sure it did actually – it dithered and delayed, rather like this one.
Sure, some of the TRO proposals are poorly conceived, and using a mega TRO with so many changes is confusing to the poor old public (and me for that matter), who struggle to hold more than one idea in their mind at a time.
There cannot be an ideological difference, as all three parties are signed up to the principles embedded in the local transport strategy. What about cronyism? Surely, there’s too few votes to be had from disgruntled drivers (begging for even more parking or removing the speed bumps that prevent free flowing rat runs through residential areas?) Anyway most people can’t be bothered to vote in local elections, and I don’t see evidence of free fags and booze even if you do. Or are there some quiet private interests at play – a conspiracy?
TROuble is that deferring the TRO, or at least not breaking it up into manageable chunks, there’s a real danger that we throw out the baby with the bathwater. If there is a conspiracy, its plainly one of considerable stupidity.
The headline figure for East Lothian as a whole is very high, according to a 2013 Community Planning profile published here. The East Lothian Residents Survey (2011) shows 99% of people surveyed saying that East Lothian was a “fairly good” or “very good” place to live, really quite high or hardly surprising, depending on where you live – or so you would think.
The results were generally very uniform – even when people were asked about their own neighbourhoods, the same pattern emerges. The averages conceal an interesting anomaly. Mostly it matters not where you live – residents of Fa’side, Haddington, North Berwick, Seton and Musselburgh wards all agree that their neighbourhood is a “very good” place to live not just “fairly good”. The range is 2:1 to 4:1 relative to those who say it is just fairly good. Continue reading How good is your neighbourhood as a place to live?
