Harringay online

Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!

There are clearly some issues discussed here which people have very real feelings about. Already this site has been taking a leading role in action against the betting shops, the CPZ and giving people the information to take action for themselves on other issues.

Some recent discussion, like Gating the Ladder and Crime on the 29 seem to resonate quite widely. Should we seek to move this discussion from healthy debate to positive action?

Tags for Forum Posts: charter, glsg, housing, vision

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Yes, I have been challenged by a local councillor on whether people who sign-up to this iste are truly members. My response was that this is the common parlance for people who sign up to websites. As to whether that makes them members, I think the situation is in many ways akin to many other sorts of groups - people take a decision to join and then some participate actively, others don't. In my time I've been a member of the RHS, the National Trust etc. etc.

But I would not pretend that people signing-up equates with their giving me or the group a mandate to act on their behalf. So Liz is right in that to take action we need to commit to specific issues in our names.

I think the way to go is to identify those issues and then see if pepole want to commit. A theoretical discussion about how to go forward may whet the appetite less for some than the raw smell of a live issue.
You may be right on the last point re issues around representation being discussed as part of an 'live' issue. Even identifying the issues may raise the hackles of some members cf why should we worry about HMOs? etc ! Still that might be a start...
How about this.

If you knock on everyones doors to start a Residents Association asking....

" Would you like a Residents Association and would you like to belong to it"

Say the majority say "Yes".

Then you say "There will be a meeting in two weeks time"

Then an invite is sent out.

Would the ones that turn up have a mandate for that street?
Only if they are prepared to canvass the households on that street on a monthly basis to discover what the 200+ households wish raised/ discussed and raise them whether they agree with them or not. As a representative, that is what you do even if that concern may conflict with what you believe to be important. Otherwise, you represent your yourself/your household only. It is precisely because people get confused about this, that people post angrily about who gives someone/some groups the right to speak for them. In a way I am supporting people like David and Rhys in their question about mandate, although adding nonsense about vigilantes etc. to their posts does not help really help their case. This is also not a dig at residents groups as I believe they do a good job and that is why I joined one but I would not presume to represent my street only my concerns about my street.

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