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"The five area forums across the borough are the principal vehicle that provides that link.I afraid it doesn't work that way, I have volunteered with a community group since 1998 when we were in out and out battling mode with Councilors, Council officers, and the executive. We pulled in over a million of outside funding, but we were viewed as this little tin pot group of up starts who dare to build something the council cannot build.  So the general consensus was to try and suppress any idea we had to up grade our area. Sorry I wouldn't trust a local councilor as far as I could throw them or there little area forums."I tend to agree with you Bernard. One acquaintance I know who has been involved with a well-known community project for years and has been shouted at by the Dear Leader at an area forum where he also tried to have her ejected for saying her piece. The problem they seem to have is if they didn't think of it they seem to resent anyone else having a good idea, neither will they assist groups in trying to get officers to move on issues that are vital to achieving progress. It turns into a constant battle when we should all be working together to improve matters. It is like a war, and too much energy is wasted with constant e-mails being ignored, and a chronic lack of staff. I have now had 3 conflicting e-mails about an application for CIL money made last September, from two different council departments and one from the Lead Member, I can't understand what the hell they are babbling on about, it is a bloody nightmare.      The area forums seem to be viewed as some kind of sop to the peasants to allow them to think that the councillors actually give a damn.

Vanessa Smith ● 2658d

Vanessa,I like to think I and Hounslow Liberal Democrats do get it. Local elections typically attract much lower turnouts than general elections especially among younger people. I believe one of the key reasons for low turnouts, as I have argued above, is the first past the post voting system that leaves the local Labour party with 85% of council seats on 54% of the vote. Many residents will simply not bother in these circumstances.It is not just candidates that have to fit in time in a busy schedule for campaigning. The majority of votes cast in the local elections are by postal ballot and as often as not based on national party loyalties rather than the key local governance issues. Hence, why parties extrapolate local election results to prospects in general elections.I am not as critical as you are of individual councillors. I respect the fact that residents of the borough are willing to engage in and give up their time for public service of whatever political stripe they may hail from. I am critical of poorly delivered public services and policies that are driven by what I believe are fundamentally flawed ideologies (from the left or right of the political spectrum) at both local and national level.At local government level there should be scope for a good deal of cross-party cooperation and consensus building. Unfortunately, this rarely happens in practice in those councils where a single party has a dominant position over a long period of time.I do agree with your comments that engagement by councillors is vitally important and echo your wish to see an improvement in the links between the various community groups and the council.

Joseph Gerald Bourke ● 2660d

"One thing I am sure of. There is no shortage of passion for community issues in Isleworth – whether it is people campaigning for or against the Church street closure; the Isleworth society and its campaign against the development of the Park Road allotments; parents and teachers campaigning against school cuts,MRAG and the Mogdem sewer works; environmentalists and over-development and a myriad of public service issues."Precisely - the passion and push to address local issues is driven by local groups and individuals, but where is the support from councillors? That's a question you haven't answered, local groups should be able to expect to work WITH members. Unfortunately we find ourselves at odds more often than not with people who simply will not listen and believe they know it all. Quite honestly I found your response quite patronising, don't you think that a lot of us are more than aware of the busy lives people lead? Don't we all? But put yourself up for election and all that goes with the territory, all we ask is that elected representatives don't exist apart from the community they are supposed to represent. We expect them to get stuck in and communicate, not think they are apart from the rest of us. We also expect integrity and transparency, sadly the local experience has been that these have been in short supply.Personally I have no problem with mandatory voting, you always have the option of spoiling the ballot paper, but I suspect you do get a more accurate picture of how people are feeling having had to go to the polling station.

Vanessa Smith ● 2661d

Vanessa,I have enjoyed reading your posts and those of others on this forum over the past few weeks.It’s a beautiful day and we have a long weekend of good weather to look forward to. I spent the morning taking down stake-boards and will enjoy a barbecue with my family. When the sun goes down I plan on making a start on the agents expense returns.On the substance of your post, I had a conversation with an Australian resident of Isleworth a couple of weeks back about the mandatory system of voting in his home country. While it seems to work well there, I am not sure that would go down so well in the UK. It was a very close election in St. Margarets and North Twickenham with two libdems and one conservative elected which was a broadly proportionate result. In Hounslow, however, there are a disproportionate number of labour councillors relative to votes cast. We do need to move to a system of proportional representation for local elections so people can be sure their vote will count for something.We ask a lot of local candidates and activists who have busy lives to lead and only so much time they can devote to campaigning. One thing I am sure of. There is no shortage of passion for community issues in Isleworth – whether it is people campaigning for or against the Church street closure; the Isleworth society and its campaign against the development of the Park Road allotments; parents and teachers campaigning against school cuts,MRAG and the Mogdem sewer works; environmentalists and over-development and a myriad of public service issues.

Joseph Gerald Bourke ● 2661d