[Campaignforrealdemocracy] Local State / Meeting Attendance Rights / United Front? Re: [politicsandspiritnetwork] help for independent venture [1 Attachment]

Mon Aug 2 10:52:10 UTC 2010

cheers Mark! And I'll def have a look at the piece Carol forwarded. It also makes my blood boil that the town sq in Woking is private property so permission is supposed to b requested for any event - I can just see them granting it for something like Buy Nothing Day! I'm going there today to give out a load of leaflets I picked up at the Stop The War meeting last week where Joe Glenton spoke and I'm not asking anyone's permission!

--- On Mon, 2/8/10, Mark Barrett <marknbarrett at gmail.com> wrote:

From: Mark Barrett <marknbarrett at gmail.com>
Subject: Local State / Meeting Attendance Rights / United Front? Re: [politicsandspiritnetwork] help for independent venture [1 Attachment]
To: politicsandspiritnetwork at yahoogroups.com, diggers350 at yahoogroups.com, whitechapelanarchists at lists.riseup.net, campaignforrealdemocracy at lists.aktivix.org, londonsocialforum2003 at yahoogroups.com
Cc: project2012 at googlegroups.com, peopleincommon at lists.riseup.net
Date: Monday, 2 August, 2010, 11:41

[Attachment(s) from Mark Barrett included below] 

Hi Ali, and Everyone

Thanks for the message about the local campaign and the question of what rights citizens have to attend meetings. Unfortunately, I'm not sure exactly what the rights situation is, so I'm passing your request on to other lists, as they may well be in a much better position to answer. Please can people read Alison's message below. 

I've also pasted a reply to Alison, and some info on the attached document which may be of interest to people on the lists cc/d to this mail.
On 1 August 2010 12:46, Alison Banville <alisonbanville@ yahoo.co. uk> wrote:

Hi all, and especially Mark,

I've just come across this while searching for an independent venue in my area (Woking, Guildford) to show a documentary. Please have a look at these links. This guy, Mark Gudgen, is fighting to open an independent cinema on the old sight in Guildford High St of the now closed Odeon - Guildford has a multi-plex now of course.

The council are really taking the piss with their secret meetings (par for the course I know but still infuriating! ) and wouldn't tell anyone why they went for a bid which cost them £80,000! Mark, I think you would know what, exactly, we are allowed to be privy to? Can we sit in on these meetings? Can we request the details? 

The first link is from a year ago and the second brings it up to date. I have emailed Mark to pledge my support to get this place open!

http://www.getsurre y.co.uk/news/ s/2053185_ petition_ for_independent_ cinema_in_ guildford

http://www.guildfor deye.com/ visitor/news/ more.detail/ news.php? record_id= 305
Cheers

Hi again Ali

In my experience there are lots of closed sessions in local council processes, and this is definitely one of the most frustrating aspects of their workings. Personally my first instinct in these situations (in addition to finding out as you are what exactly the rights situation is) is to try and engage with the local papers, as they are often quite keen to do stories of the david vs goliath type, so local residents plan vs corrupt and secretive council plan, might be a good angle to pursue as Councillors and Chief execs crave good headlines and to avopid bad ones as much as Wesminster politicians do so that might have an effect. What do others think?

In addition I'm taking this opportunity to attach a long but well researched document that Carol of the Labour Land Campaign has recently forwarded to me. People might no agree with all its conclusions and / or traditional Marxist slant, and it is long but if you spend some time with it you will find illuminating and important chapters on the history and present state of local government in the UK, an expose of the influential New Local Government Network NLGN's new right agenda, likewise the move towards directly elected local Mayors, plus summaries of the question of land taxation and in particular an explanation on the tensions between Marxist and Georgist thinking and a strong and supportive reference to the Right to the City ideal and the seminal work of David Harvey.

Because of the pressing need to forge a united, decentralised  front in response to the coalition, big cuts and big society rhetoric I thought this document - while challenging reading - might in many ways be be a useful primer..

Cheers

Mark
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