Voice of 16 year olds

This is from my friend Anthony. He has been campaigning hard to get the voice of younger people heard in Maidstone:

Last Wednesday (4th May) saw Anthony Hill, a 16 Year old Student from St Simon Stock School, deliver Cllr Garland a thank you card. Cllr Garland is the leader of Maidstone Borough Council.

Anthony delivered the Thank you card to the Council’s offices, but unfortunately Cllr Garland was not in the office at the time and is not expected to be in until next week!

The thank you card was in relation to the Council finally changing their constitution. Due to Anthony’s original question in September there was a change in the rules for presenting petitions to the council. However, these changes were not shown in the council’s constitution until the end of April. A time of almost 7 Months!

Anthony said that the council should be accountable in there running, something that is a key part of our democracy.

I feel that the length of time taken is absurd. However, I am glad that it is over and the council have finally changed their constitution.

This move will now allow Under 18’s living in the borough to submit petitions. Something Anthony was originally not allowed to do last summer.

Maidstone teenager makes history on democracy in borough

Received this from my friend Anthony! My heart felt congratulations to him.

Anthony Hill, a 16 year old sixth form student at St Simon Stock Catholic School, who led the campaign to save the tree outside Town Hall. He Questioned Cllr Garland last Wednesday (22nd Sept) about the Councils petition rules which only allowed people on the electoral roll the right to submit petitions, which you have to be 18 for. Cllr Garland agreed that Under 18’s should be allowed to present petitions to Maidstone Borough Council and the constitution should be changed accordingly as long as the council agreed.


Late that night all councillors voted in Favour for changes to Maidstone Borough Council’s Petition scheme, which included removing the age limit for petitions and allowing e –petitions. It was said that without Anthony’s Campaign to Save the Tree this change would not have happened. Anthony was praised by all Councillors and Council Staff.

Anthony was delighted about the council’s decision and said “It is a shame that this was not in place when I wanted to submit my petition in June. But I have alerted the council that there are young people in our borough who want to make a change for the better to our Borough and wider Community, contrary to what you are often led to believe. This change will allow anyone in the future the right to submit a petition which is excellent news. I would also like to thank all of he Councillors who have praised me over me efforts.”

For More Information, Photo or Interview opportunities etc. please do not hesitate to contact me.

View Last Night’s Council Meeting: http://clients.westminster-digital.co.uk/maidstone/player.aspx?EventID=2188

Widdecombe in the House of Lords?

I'm a big fan of Power 2010 and it looks like they are to descend on Maidstone to protest at the prospect of Ms Widdecombe becoming a Lord.

While Ann was a good constituency MP, her political views are pretty awful!

Appointing people to the House of Lords is wrong on so many levels and I hope that I can join Power 2010's protest when they come to Maidstone.

We the elite...

This excellent document from Democratic Audit is a brilliant satire on the appalling state of our nation, the supreme lack of democracy and the determination by the state to ensure that the elite remain in power.

A few snippets:

10.1. The electoral system for the primary chamber, the House of Commons, shall confine the choice of governing party at general elections to one or other of two main parties and shall usually confer upon that party a disproportionately large majority in the House of Commons in order to swell its power. For the  convenience of the two main parties, general elections shall  generally be won or lost by the votes of fewer than 200,000 electors in less than 100 seats.

11.6. The system shall be known informally as ‘first past the post’ to reflect popular interest in horse racing. Its merits are as follows: it
a) enables the two established parties to dominate the House of Commons and to take turns in governing the country;
b) returns one or the other dominant party with an exaggerated majority in the House at general elections, so that it can rule on its own with the minimum of parliamentary fuss and opposition;
c) protects the political careers of up to 550 MPs who sit in ‘safe seats’

13.5. The right to freedom from torture and inhumane treatment is recognised, subject to the rendition of terrorist suspects or sympathisers to nations that may torture them with the complicity as necessary of the British intelligence services.

Ring of the Lords

Thanks to Beau Bo D'Or for this!

The Lords scandal is just another example of the sheer stupidity of the concept of a House of Lords. I almost have more time for the hereditary peers, at least they haven't been placed there strategically or as a favour, but either way this week's scandal is yet another reason to scrap the Lords and replace it with a fully elected upper house.

How many countries could get away with calling themselves democratic with a system like ours?

Non Violent Direct Mail - more on democracy

Received a letter from Unlock Democracy yesterday asking for help in delivering leaflets to local people in Maidstone. This is a great organisation, campaigning for

• Fair, Open and Honest Elections
• Rights, Freedoms and a Written Constitution
• Stronger Parliament and Accountable Government
• Bringing Power Closer to the People
• A Culture of Informed Political Interest and Responsibility

It appears that the leaflet will be on electoral reform, something that we are particularly keen on... getting people engaged with politics is essential, too many people could not give a damn about voting, politics and do not trust politicians - and who can blame them when we have a system that forces a choice between tweedledum and tweedledee.

Our disgusting lack of democracy and representation in this country is surely at the root of much of the malaise in bother voter engagement and in the direction and attitude of government. Labour are in power with the majority of MPs after just 22% of the electorate voted for them - a year 7 pupil could unpick the absurdity of this.

Like a self fulfilling prophecy, people feel disengaged with our current system and campaigning against it is low on their agenda. I posted a comment a few months ago about the Tory aim to hold every seat in Kent. Based on recent polls, and the lack of proportional representation, this is possible and would mean that the percentage of voters in Kent who do not have a MP of their persuasion will rise from 22% in 2005 to 54% in 2010. 54% of people are likely to vote against the Tories yet they could win all 17 seats. Although not down to Mugabe's standards it is still impressive.