Well Dunsfold Park Limited – all the anti’s were out last week – though you won’t have seen them, unless you sent along a spy, because the seven informal questions they hoped to ask were not webcast. So leave it to us at the Waverley Web to tell you what happened!
The posse was led by Parish Councillor Betty Ames. She, who breaks every rule in the local authority rule-book and ploughs here own furrow, or is it burrow to stop homes being built on the largest brownfield site in the borough, whilst happily watching nearby green fields go under concrete. Why – because she lives on the approach road, immediately adjacent to the site, but, never declares a personal interest.
But let’s not be pedantic, she has battled for 30 years to prevent “anything – just anything happening at Dunsfold” if she could stop birds flying overhead she would, according to our Alfold researchers. But give the gal her due, despite being a nonagenarian + 2 she is determined to persuade Waverley’s decision makers to kick the Dunsfold plan into touch by turning out at every meeting like a spectre at the feast!
Tuesday was no exception, though she did have a noisy entourage in tow, who realised they cannot be monitored in public because informal questions are not filmed? They even threatened one of our contributors who filmed the proceedings – in a public chamber – whatever next! Needless to say the two questions they did manage were the same old, same old… However, Farnham Residents’ Councillor John Williamson asked several questions – but received – what both he, and we have come to expect – NOTHING!
Why we wonder at WW doesn’t the council webcast the whole proceedings? Because we might hear something controversial perhaps, local democracy at work again?
Transparency-openness- accountability, honesty – not on your Betty!
Needless to say the 15 mins allowed for questions was strictly adhered to, and with lots of filibustering by members of The Executive thus allowing only a couple of questions to be asked the Dunsfold group, played right into the Councils’ hands by preventing any Farnham questions from being asked.
Forget – the public why don’t you Waverley Borough Council – after all they are only voting fodder and they won’t see you until the next election in 2018!
One day you will have the good manners to continue the public questions until you have at least heard people out Leader Knowless – because nobody expects any answers?
He is pictured here suitably pleased with himself – yet again! Nobody, just nobody is going to get a question delivered, let alone answered while I’m in charge!
Unfortunately, a vast majority of countries that call themselves Representative Democracies are not true democracies according to the definition of the word. Most of them are actually just Elected Dictatorships. People can vote usually only once every four or five years. They do not vote on any issues. They just elect their so called representatives who then, until the next election, have no obligations by law and little incentive to base their decisions on individual issues or the wishes of their electorate. They hardly ever bother to consult them on their stands on various issues. Therefore, legislative bodies composed of such “representatives” act in a very dictatorial manner between the elections. The only country that is quite close to the definition of Democracy is Switzerland (more or less since 1291).