I was mildly encouraged by the Reinvigorating Democracy event held by Southampton Council today, mainly by the awareness of and tentitive enthusiasm shown by the leader of the council and the other council member there for participatory democracy and having more of that in Southampton. Lets push for getting that implemented in a way that might make a difference (not a token, poorly publicized show of it that involves a tiny number). I also liked what two of the academics there were saying about the practical, proven benefits of participatory budgeting, and how people generally do become much more interested and engaged in politics when they feel there is a chance for them to make any difference (as they can in a participatory model, in constrast with a purely representative one). Encouraging to was the general and openly expressed by everyone understanding of concentrated capital being an over-arching problem, which makes it hard for progressive politics to develop. The danger there of course is that the understanding lapses into a sense of hopelessness and tinkering at the edges as the best that can be hoped for. One thing discussed that Id like to explore further was the discretionary budget (the money the council has that isnt already allocated for things specificied by law or central government) being so small (around 15%, and then much less after things like road maintenance and refuse collection are taken off). Just taking that amount (several million) a lot can be done. But what about the already allocated 85% of funds which are spent in Southampton? What they are spent on might be fixed for now, but what about how the money and resources are allocated? So care for the elderly and housing benefit take up a large chunk, but is it possible to involve the public more in developing better quality solutions to providing those support services? I.e. the budget might be fixed in those and other areas, but there could still be siginificant scope for introducing participatory decision making to them. One idea might be local law limiting rents or increasing council tax more than currently for landlords with many properties, thereby making lower lost housing for those who need it and releaving financial preasure on the council. There is also large scope for seriously engaging the public in the planning of big development schemes (not sham last minute consultations held after the decisions have already been made). A participatory model and or a citizens jury would be a good way of supporting such engagement.
Posted on: Thu, 08 Jan 2015 23:50:03 +0000
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