[Campaignforrealdemocracy] Last Night's Meeting

[james holland]

lots of stuff here but i just sent a rather short draft statement that i 
think we should develop for starters?



James Holland

http://risingclevel.blogspot.com/

Mark Barrett wrote:
> Hi everyone who was there last night (monday at RFH) and to the 4 
> apologees. And my apologies in turn for not having finished the 
> minutes yet. Won't be able to finish them til tomorrow eve 
> at earliest, or Thurs AM.  
>  
> In lieu of that, here, I think, are the action points we more or less 
> agreed.
>  
> Pls can people comment on them in the next 24 hours?
>  
> Cheers
> Mark
>  
>  
> *CRD Draft Action Points of Consensus* 
>  
> (1) To support one or more local community struggles in London, and 
> where possible help them develop towards the self-governing 'real 
> democracy' / local sovereignty project we've been considering, and in a 
> way that suits them. To offer info, skills to share and connections with 
> other local/democratic community groups in London and elsewhere
>  
> (2) To suggest to each other struggles that can be supported in this way 
> so we can begin to map, and connect ourselves up with local groups and, 
> ideally also connect local groups to each other, in practical solidarity   
>  
> (3) To invite groups and individuals concerned about democratic 
> community to form a properly constituted, initiallly as a
> Localists' Union, (but not limited to that - see E below), union 
> with simple, initial basic campaign aims of:
>  
> (A) building trust in the idea of community, and in a 
> different, emancipatory way of organising society 
>  
> demanding and doing united actions in support of:
> (B) a community building in every neighbourhood to be run by those 
> around it
> (C) pieces of land in and around cities to be ring fenced for new, 
> intentional democratic communities to be created 
>  
> and (D) a commitment to keep relentlessly under consideration key 
> questions about structure, eg about what kind of tax system, and other 
> structural changes will be necessary to suport a really democratic, 
> community based  society 
>  
> and finally (E) recognising the struggle for real democracty is not 
> *just *about localism, but that there are many other types of community 
> that could and should be democratic, but local is where people actually 
> live and work, so it is the right place to start  building a 
> society governed on different lines to the one we have now. But also we 
> are for the right to organise more widely than that, in workplaces, 
> places of study, prisons, hospitals - participation not false 
> representation!   
>  
> [folks we definitely got consensus on  A and B and i think also E but 
> what about C and D? I'll need to include this in the Minutes - and in 
> the invite to the next meeting - in some way, so please can people give 
> me feeling on these points? C was already agreed in prev discussions on 
> Local Sovereignty concept but we didn't go into it in detail last night. 
> And (D) covers our talks about tax, local parliaments, banks, job 
> centres etc. Phrased in this way, seems uncontroversial and reflective 
> of our discussion last night?    
> (4) To arrange a meeting in the next month to take this agenda further 
> forward [ I have already got started on this ] 
> (5) to invite all our nice colleagues / friends and people of like mind 
> in the wider network to get involved
> (6) to consider coming to the picnic on Aug 15th and telling people 
> about it, and
> (7) the possibilty of a Winter Right to the City Conference.   
>  
> Make sense as a 1st draft / summary ?
>  
> Obviously I will have to condense all this down but thought it a good 
> idea to run the rough draft past you first to see if I'm missing 
> anything important. 
>  
> Mark   
>  
> PS found this on Flickr 
> http://www.flickr.com/photos/chelmsfordblue/3574699495/in/set-72157618865479403
> Got photos too, of us in front of the plasticine paradise from my phone 
> camera, do people want me to send them (they are not tiny files, but not 
> gargantuan either, but after all the fuss with my phone they are really 
> rather nice!!)  
>  
>