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Thursday 24 December 2015

West Dorset District Council >>> cabinet system to be challenged by popular referendum

There are several ways in which the District Council of East Devon can be compared with that of West Dorset:

Both have wanted to forge ahead with expensive, controversial relocation of headquarters:
Futures Forum: East Devon and West Dorset: relocation projects compared
Futures Forum: Knowle: does the criticism over West Dorset's sale of its old offices challenge the East Devon relocation project?
Futures Forum: Knowle relocation project: comparing the West Dorset relocation project
Futures Forum: Knowle relocation project: comparing the West Dorset relocation project: part two
Futures Forum: Knowle relocation project: and the longer-term demise of district councils... comparing the West Dorset relocation project: part three

Both have talked about some kind of merger:
Futures Forum: Knowle relocation project: and the longer-term demise of district councils... part seven: "In favour of efficiencies"
Futures Forum: Knowle relocation project: and the longer-term demise of district councils... part eight: defining the term 'merger': "Each council would continue to set its own budget and remain independent, but work from one office."

... or even 'devolution':
Futures Forum: Knowle relocation project: and the longer-term demise of district councils >>> Devon and Somerset to merge?
Futures Forum: Knowle relocation project: and the longer-term demise of district councils... revisted >>> the impact of devolution on the South-West

And both have controversial 'cabinet' systems:
Futures Forum: Knowle relocation project: and the West Dorset relocation project: both district councils' cabinet system is questioned

There has been an ongoing campaign in West Dorset to change this cabinet system:



  • Fundamental Principles of Public First Group
  • We are a non-party-political group, with specific objectives which we would like to see debated democratically and then adopted, where they have been voted on or where it is the clear democratic will that they should be. When there is a public meeting it is thePublic who speak first, and for most of the time available. Current top priority was to achieve 4,069 signings to the Petition, which when verified, will trigger a referendum under the Localism Act 2011 on moving West Dorset District Council back from a ‘Cabinet’ to a ‘Committee’ form of governance. This number of signings has now been exceeded and a strong buffer of signings is taking place without any further pro-activity by the campaign team – new signings arrive each day and agaist an internal taret of 5,000 (to ensure safety of numbers) the number of signings is now over 6,000 and climbing
  • aye
    Examples: Voting in Dorchester, Jan. 7th: 248 against Cabinet government locally – only 2 were for it. At the Bridport meeting on February 20th again only 2 people who wanted to stay with a Cabinet govt. locally.
    Public First Group is an association established as a non-party-political organisation to improve Democracy in West Dorset, and Dorset through system change. It is undertaking a ‘Campaign for Local Democracy’.
    • It will seek to achieve, by petition and subsequent referendum, a change from the current Cabinet system to a Committee-based system of governance for West Dorset District Council. This option is provided for under the Localism Act 2011.
    • It will strive to achieve agreement for an urgent, detailed investigation by West Dorset District Council (and/or Dorset County Council) of the costs/benefits of Dorset becoming one unitary authority.
publicfirstgroup.co.uk

The campaign has been successful:

Cabinet or committee - you decide! 

West Dorset set for governance 

referendum on May 5

Public First group welcomes the referendum news
Public First group welcomes the referendum news






























































Cabinet or committee - you decide! West Dorset set for governance referendum on May 5 (From Dorset Echo)

As confirmed in a letter in today's Independent - spotted by the East Devon Watch:

Power to the voters

Some of us here in Dorset have laboured for a year raising a petition to put an end to the “cabinet rule of law”’ that reigns supreme in West Dorset District Council (WDDC). We now have enough signatures to force a referendum giving the electorate an opportunity to vote for a change to “committee” governance.
In 2011, from 43 per cent of votes cast, Conservatives were elected to 67 per cent seats of seats available in WDDC. Seven of these councillors occupied all of the executive seats. The national figures at the last general election were worse; the Tories were elected on about 25 per cent of eligible votes. In essence, West Dorset’s main towns are unrepresented politically; not one of their elected representatives sits on WDDC’s executive committee. 
What sort of democracy do we live in when it has become necessary for citizens to demand that their representatives have a voice in decision-making? 
Politicians talk only in ideological “tongues” but invariably display an insatiable hunger for power. Unless we pull together for proportional representation and make politicians listen not only to us, but more importantly to each other, party politics will continue to divide and betray us. 
Mike Joslin
Dorchester, Dorset

Letters: Dark corners of the global tax system | Letters | Voices | The Independent
Only the district has been changed …. | East Devon Watch
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