Power to the people! - Town Centre Assemblies

Empty chairs as the public stay away from Lib Dem area committees where residents had no say

Local people are set to have a big say in their local area - thanks to changes proposed by Labour. The Council is asking residents for their views on setting up a public forum in each of the Borough’s town centres. The new town centre assemblies will bring together local residents, community organisations and voluntary groups, to discuss issues that concern people locally. The forums will use workshops and round-table discussions to identify priorities and propose action plans that the Council will then carry out. The assemblies will not only connect local people to the Council, but to the Council’s key partners including the police and the health service. For the first time, local people will be able to direct change in the areas where they live. Issues likely to be at the top of people’s list include tackling crime and improving shops, transport and other local services.

Labour’s approach marks a sea-change from the high-handed approach forced on local people by the Lib Dems and Tories while they ran the Council. They set up ‘area committees’ for their councillors to sit on and dictate to local people. With residents deliberately excluded from having a say, the committees frequently met in front of empty rows of chairs as the public voted with their feet and stayed away.

Labour’s Jackie Meldrum is Deputy Leader of the Council. She said: “Residents deserve a bigger say in what happens in the area where they live. With Labour’s new proposals, residents will decide their own local priorities. Residents will set their own action plans. The Council will then act to make sure it happens. That’s Labour’s plan to end the top-down Lib Dem approach and hand power back to the people.”

Share you views on this and other local issues in the Lambeth Forum and be kept informed about local issues by emailing subscribe@lambethlabour.com.

To let us know your view on this issue, get help from your local councillor, or discover how you can help Labour in Lambeth, please complete the form below.