Yes it is official democracy in our town is dead and buried, if you have read my other posts you will know I have been trying for some time now to get answers from Chesterfield Borough Council as a result of numerous connected acts of criminality perpetrated by Council employees against my family and myself.
In my last post I wrote to the leader of the Council asking for answers to a number of very simple questions which I have put to the Council on numerous occasions, questions which they have refused to respond to or even acknowledge.
The leader of the Council has flatly refused to answer my post or the emails I have sent her including emailing the open letter in its entirety as posted on the forum, the fact that the leader of the council has refused to engage with me on this matter shows unequivocally that this Labour Council does not practice or believe in democracy or the democratic process itself.
And in case there is any doubt, the following statements are from a High Court judge and a leading academic in politics and this is what they say.
Alan Dershowitz, a prominent Constitutional Law scholar, declares that “accountability is an essential element in a democracy. Hypocrisy has no place.”
“Transparency in government is a vital interest in a democracy”, says Merrick Garland, Chief Judge
The conclusion from the sayings of these two learned gentlemen is that democracy without accountability and without transparency is hypocrisy.
Aaccountability is government’s answerability and account-giving to parliament and to the electorate. Where there is good governance, accountability is government’s shouldering of responsibility. It is government’s obligation to account for its activities, accept responsibility for them and disclose the results in a transparent manner. Transparency is a right and the means to examine the process of its actions and decision making. It is a way of holding public officials accountable, thus it is also a medium to fight corruption.
Good governance mainly depends on accountability and transparency without which there is no real democracy. Accountability and transparency go hand in hand. Without transparency there is no accountability and vice versa, thus making the very claim of being democratic a SHAM.
The above clearly applies to governments of any sort including local government, the lack of adherance to the above principles by members of any so called democratic institution clearly shows beyond doubt that not only does the said institution no longer practice democratic accountability it also shows that that institution does not truly beleive in democracy or the practice of the democratic process itself, also it is a tenant of our democracy that there is no taxation without accountability so why are we paying Council Tax when this Labour Council has clearly shown accountability as being non existant.
In conclusion once a year the council sends out forms requiring housholds to register to vote, my contention is, as there is no democracy there is clearly no point to this form, and as a result i intend to consign mine to the bin where it can keep democracy (consigned there by Chesterfield Borough Council) company. My father now deceased, was a miner all his life and he always impressed on me the need to vote and told me people have suffered and even died to ensure of everybodys right to vote, and for the past forty five years i have followed his advice religiously and voted in every referendum and govenment election including local elections, and all that is left to say is, sorry DAD you could not have been more wrong, the process you beleived in and the democratic principles of the Labour Party which you misplaced your faith in all your life are long dead, and to both my father and the democracy he so passionately beleived in i say you are both sadly missed.
REST IN PEACE.