Why can't the parties work together?
June 3, 2003 12:00 AM
By Stephen Williams in Letter to the Editor, Bristol Evening Post
By Stephen Williams in Letter to the Editor, Bristol Evening Post
The events of the last few weeks will have done nothing to increase public confidence in the democratic process. Our City Council has been rudderless since the election because the party with the most seats won't consider placing so much as a finger on the tiller.
I am bemused by this new found shyness of power by the Labour Party. They say they can't take part in the running of the city because a majority of the city voted against them. Is this something new? They were quite happy to rule the city for decades on the back of a minority of votes. It was only our daft electoral system that allowed them a majority of seats for much of the time. All that changed in 2003 was that the Labour minority shrunk and the Lib Dem one grew.
The truth is that all three parties on the Council represent a significant minority of opinion in the city. None of them have a right to monopolise power. That's why the Lib Dem proposal for the three parties to work together for the next two years makes such good sense.
What are Labour afraid of? Political parties working together is not revolutionary. It is the norm in local councils up and down the land, including most of Bristol's neighbours. It was also the norm here for over 10 years when the former Avon County Council was a three way administration running most of Bristol's services.
I served as a councillor on both Avon and Bristol councils and found the coalition experience much more conducive to good government, allowing talented people from all the parties to work together on areas of common ground.
Curiously, three of Bristol's MPs also served as Avon councillors in this period. Can Val Davey, Roger Berry and Dawn Primarolo knock some sense into their colleagues in the Council House? Surely they are not all ashamed of their past?
Bristol has many long standing problems that require attention from its City Council. What the city does not need is bone-headed stubbornness from the party that still has the largest number of the seats on the Council. It may not be easy for councillors from different parties to work together, but the Lib Dems are willing to give it a try.
What would you like to do next?
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