Sunday, June 18, 2006
London Conference
"ALG LONDON SUMMIT"
On Saturday, 17th June, Cllr. John Beanse attended the London Conference for new councillors of all parties organised by the ALG (Association of London Government).
This was held at the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre, Westminster. He writes:
"I attended interesting and informative sessions on Crime and the Community and on Finance, as well as listening to speeches and Question & Answer sessions in the main hall. I was called to speak in one of these and questioned the way we are governed, referring to:
- the unsatisfactory way decisions are taken in Cabinet, rather than by the full Council
- the role of the London Mayor and the inadequate powers of the London Assembly
- the demands and targets of Central Government in setting the local government agenda
- the unsatisfactory nature of the electoral system itself by which councillors are elected."
# posted by John Beanse @ 5:00 PM 
Comments:
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Some serious concerns of mine there.
My experience is that cabinet decisions are made and then buried in the minutes of that meeting only to be discovered when it is too late for the Scrutiny and Overview Committee to take action.
Cabinet government also leads to lack of discussion and counter arguments being presented, hardly good for democracy (although perhaps good for autocratic 'efficient' government).
The interference of Westminster in lcocal government is another concern, central government simply cannot know what the priorities are for local councils and local people. It is absurd to think they can.
Again, it seems to me that the London Assembly has little ability to check the actions of the Mayor. A London wide democratic body is to be welcomed to bring , but an elective dictatorship is no solution.
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My experience is that cabinet decisions are made and then buried in the minutes of that meeting only to be discovered when it is too late for the Scrutiny and Overview Committee to take action.
Cabinet government also leads to lack of discussion and counter arguments being presented, hardly good for democracy (although perhaps good for autocratic 'efficient' government).
The interference of Westminster in lcocal government is another concern, central government simply cannot know what the priorities are for local councils and local people. It is absurd to think they can.
Again, it seems to me that the London Assembly has little ability to check the actions of the Mayor. A London wide democratic body is to be welcomed to bring , but an elective dictatorship is no solution.
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