A meeting taking place in Oban this weekend might just change the way communities engage with politics and politicians. Local democracy needs to change – is it time for a People’s Council?
A grassroots movement created to transform local democracy is to hold an event in Oban this weekend. The People’s Council believes that local democracy in Scotland is broken – and it’s up to people and communities themselves to fix it.
The movement has it’s roots in the west of Scotland, where community activists in Argyll & Bute started the ball rolling. Frustrated by the way their local authority operates, campaigners aim to revolutionise decision-making, taking it back to the local communities themselves. They’ve had enough of the council’s ‘we know what’s good for you’ attitude and believe that decisions made about a community are best made by the people who are affected by them – the people who live there. Sound familiar?
Community campaigners were particularly aggrieved over their local authority’s lack of support for a community buy-out of Castle Toward, their council’s failure to challenge budget cuts and the subsequent cuts to services in their communities that inevitably followed.
Activists began chatting online – and an online community, the People’s Council movement, was formed. It soon became clear that people and communities across the country are also concerned about the state of local democracy, and the decision was made to widen the campaign and make the movement Scotland wide.
The group feels that the structure and ethos of councils, and not just their actions and decisions, must be challenged.
It is calling for fundamental reform of local government in Scotland and have called a People’s Council meeting to look at how this can be achieved.
A People’s Council spokesperson said: “This grassroots event in Argyll is set to challenge the nature of local democracy in Scotland. Scotland may be topping the UK charts in terms of voter turnout at the recent election but there’s still a huge local democratic deficit we need to tackle.
“Join us in Oban on 6 June for this one day event full of speakers, workshops, discussion and action to explore local democracy reform from a grassroots level organised by a collective of community activists from across Argyll.
“Speakers include writer and broadcaster Lesley Riddoch, Common Weal’s Robin McAlpine, Paddy Bort of the University of Edinburgh, campaigner Cat Boyd, local MSP Mike Russell and Councillor Vivien Dance, among others.
“The aim of the event is to plan and organise how people can effect change in our local communities and across Scotland. Everyone knows that local democracy in Scotland is broken. The People’s Council wants to try and fix it.”
Broadcaster Lesley Riddoch has thrown her weight behind the campaign and is one of a number of high profile speakers who will address the People’s Council event on Saturday.
She said: “Scotland has Europe’s largest councils by population and physical size. That means distant decision-making, low levels of participation and constant battles between communities and councils.
“Argyll and Bute Council’s shameful failure to transfer Castle Toward to the local community as agreed was one of the lowest points in the history of Scottish local democracy. But now activists from across Argyll are demonstrating real leadership by deciding to get even – not angry.
“These campaigners have kick-started a process to devise a new workable template of truly local government in Scotland involving folk from all over Scotland – the People’s Councils.
“There’s been support for this novel, grassroots idea at every meeting I’ve spoken at during the election campaign from Assynt in the Highlands to Duns in the Borders. Truly local councils are an idea whose time has come – well done Argyll for getting the ball rolling.”
Independent MSP John Finnie, who will also speak at the Oban event, said: “In far too many local authorities decisions reached indicate just how far, both in terms of geography and mind-set, those charged with representing communities are from what really matters.
“That must and will change as the growing debate around the need to ensure meaningful local democracy, which reflects community aspirations, gathers momentum.”
The event takes place at Oban High School on Saturday 6 June from 9.30am to 4.30pm. Tickets are £10/£7 and can be purchased online from Ticket Tailor, or via www.thepeoplescouncil.org.
A number of free tickets are also available.