Anthony Barnett (London, OK): Iain Dale has just written a striking lament about the disgrace of sham consultations. Those who succeed in getting elected as MPs can feel like this too, and we know what it is like for the rest of us. It raises the question of who takes decisions and how they do so - leaving aside why. In part it is the hypocrisy of the process that is so galling. It would be much better with planning decisions if those in authority said: "We want to take this decision, for this reason, to achieve this objective, we know that these people will not like it, we are proposing this compensation and now we are having a consultation in which we will listen especially to those who can suggest a better way of achieving our aim by other means." Instead, we get the evasions, dishonesty, and distortions that drive people to direct action. See Katrina Forrester's post in OK about the Plane Stupid demo on the roof of the Commons after the "consultation" on the Heathrow third runway which did not allow members of the public to let it be known if they were against it. Which, as she puts it, shows, "the extent to which Government strives to keep people impotent".
Sham Democracy
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Comments
Simon Heywood has just posted this relevant comment on Katrina's post
"It is a stitch-up sure enough. The only way to air an issue is to stage an eye-catching protest, but if you stage an eye-catching protest, the protest, not the issue, becomes the story. There won’t usually be much media debate about why the protest is happening. In Derby, an anti-Trident protest outside Rolls Royce (who make Trident parts) was reported by the BBC in terms of public order, risk of violence (!), etc. - literally not a word about why Trident might not be a good idea - a typical example."
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