Power to the People

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Permalink Reply by Chris Setz on March 25, 2010 at 12:47

Motives, mandates...

Is it not the case that the majority of voters are not involved in local politics, never have been and are unlikely to ever be?

The hidden agenda of the programme for me was trying to seduce the majority into getting involved locally. That is simply not going to happen, is it? What Portillo really means is, accept the first part of my approach and the rest of the Portillo 'version' of politics follows logically from that. We continually reject modern politics by dint of our apathy and therefore get the system(s) (and activists) we deserve.

Better to be realistic and accept that people are largely disinterested and/or trust those doing stuff for them. Go ahead and do whatever you want provided you leave the door open to anyone curious.

I would like to see people who are involved locally 'come clean' - not make the mistake of thinking that they are doing it for 'others' when they have no mandate to 'own' what others want.

For instance, the Harringay Online website is a club, isn't it? You are involved because you get more out than you put in, aren't you? If anyone is curious they can see that it is a good hearted initiative and are prepared to trust that you will make things better, aren't they? There is not and never will be a mandate to do anything.

I hope you won't pursue a mandate or go for 'critical mass' - just continue with helpful, fun stuff as long as you don't do it in the street and frighten the horses...

Just my two penneth...

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Permalink Reply by Liz on March 25, 2010 at 13:16

That's an interesting take on the site Chris.

We certainly don't want this to be a 'club' but open to all and any may contribute and organise using the platform of the site to do that. The HOL group that meets regularly is open to all and any member may attend.

I would agree to some extent with your views on local activists coming 'clean' on their motives but I do find that most of them accept and understand that they have no 'mandate' to own the issue. What people are trying to do in most cases is get local problems fixed and ensure they don't keep happening. Few of the ones I've met believe themselves to be operating for all - their approach tends to be 'this is bothering me, is it bothering anyone else, shall we see if we can do something about it?'.

I suppose we all operate from self interest first - I hate my kids seeing litter everywhere and fly tipping so I start trying to do something about it. If that becomes a bigger thing, like attending meetings or going on walkabouts with enforcement staff, then I accept that but, of course, I am trying to get the problem fixed that bothers me. We have had vigorous debates on the site that suggest that what bothers some e.g. estate agents sign, is of no or little interest to others. The proof tends to come when people put up petitions etc. The Wood Green traffic one recieved enormous support, the estate agents boards very little...ultimately the people do decide, I think Chris.

Of course, most of us expect that the people who put themselves up for office will do the heavy work in terms of getting stuff done and spending our council tax wisely for them but surely it is right that they involve residents in fixing things and gather information from them to guide their actions. Isn't scrutiny and accountabilty to the voters important all year round and not just every 4 years?

Harringayonline has never claimed a mandate, as far as I know, but surely the local elections is an important issue to focus on for the next 40 days, if only because the decisions we as voters make on May 6th in the local election will affect our day to day life greatly and we need to ensure that we are fully informed before we make our choice.

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Permalink Reply by Hugh on March 25, 2010 at 13:31

I agree with much of what you say Chris, but overall I think I'm a little less cynical.

I agree that most people aren't engaged in local politics most of the time - except when there's an issue that affects something outside their front door or with their kids.

Having said that I'm not of the opinion that you can't move the needle at all. I am however realistic about how much things will change.

I'm not sure I saw an agenda in the programme, other than it's likely that Portillo is somewhat caught up in the general rush to embrace localism and grass roots democracy. Overall though I thought he told a fair story about the good things that were happening with pushing some power back down.

Harringay Online and sites like it are useful for people's hot button issues, for making it easier to access information, to take action when people are moved to and to connect people a bit more to their neighbourhood.

You're right about the mandate issue. I don't claim it, nor do I allow that residents' associations with 10 or 20 members have any mandate to represent me or the neighbourhood. What sites like this do is to provide a platform for people to express views, amplify otherwise muted voices and allow us to organise when appropriate. This has happened here and on other sites with great effect on a number of occasions.

Although most local politicians don't realise it, these sites are also great tools for them to understand what local people's issues are and enter into occasional dialogue. Very often these are conversations that would never take place otherwise with people they'd be unlikely to interact with elsewhere.

As you may know I'm currently involved in some London-wide research trying to understand exactly what impact neighbourhood sites do have. I'll be sure and share the results once they're available.

Can't promise to never to frighten the horses though - some horses need a bit of a shock from time to time.

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