Michael Macpherson (London, I&R ~ GB): Judith Herrin writes: "just read Zac Goldsmith's report of the anger in Barnes and his hopes that local referendums can reinvigorate local democracy when what should pop through the door but an invitation to vote - and decide - on a policy in Islington."
It's interesting to find this out, because there is an "information gap" concerning developments in England and Wales. In recent decades the use of referendums and, to a lesser extent, of citizens' initiatives has increased - in the last twenty years, there have been some dozens, perhaps even hundreds. Earlier this year, while preparing a talk about local direct democracy in England and Wales I tried to find reports about referendums already held. Two associations of local governments and the Electoral Commission replied that they had not documented local referendums. The company Electoral Reform Services, which organises them (for a fee - appears to hold a monopoly, is that healthy?) refused to hand over the data which they hold about presumably many such initiatives. They said that they had "promised local authorities not to". Why can't this information be made public? It will help us get a feeling for the enthusiasm and democratic spirit which went into some of these local campaigns, which in turn can encourage others.
