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IR+R NEWS - news about democratic reform, citizens' initiative,
referendum, recall of elected officials. A service of 
Citizens' Initiative and Referendum I&R ~ GB
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IN THIS NEWSLETTER THERE ARE THREE ITEMS ::::::::::::::::::::


*1) MP3 AUDIO: DAVID CAMERON PROMISES CITIZEN-LED DEMOCRACY NATIONAL AND 
LOCAL

2) **CITIZEN-LED DEMOCRACY IS ESSENTIAL FOR SUSTAINABLE CONSTITUTIONAL 
REFORM

3) LOCAL GOVERNMENT ESTABLISHMENT OPPOSED TO MORE DEMOCRACY
*
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MP3 AUDIO: DAVID CAMERON PROMISES CITIZEN-LED DEMOCRACY NATIONAL AND LOCAL

The Conservative Party** and its leader have substantially answered the 
question posed recently by The Independent newspaper "how is Cameron 
going to give power to the people?".

In section 3.3. of the Tory green paper "Control Shift" we find QUOTE 
"The right of popular initiative is a feature of many political systems 
in the developed world. In Switzerland, people have mechanisms for 
direct democracy on almost everything from planning applications, to the 
precise use of tax resources, to medical ethics. Perhaps the most famous 
expression of American civic independence is in Oregon, where the system 
known as “citizen initiative” was introduced as long ago as 1902. Under 
the Local Government Act 2003, local councils can choose to hold 
referendums on any local issue. But there is no mechanism for residents 
to petition for a local referendum per se. We will give power to 
residents to hold local referendums on any local issue by legislating to 
ensure that a referendum is held in a local authority area if 5 per cent 
of local citizens sign a petition in favour within a six month period." 
UNQUOTE

The above applies to the local government level. In a recent BBC radio 
broadcast David Cameron, Leader of the Conservative Party**, may be 
heard saying that the citizens' right to initiate a referendum would be 
brought in at country/state level. (Source: BBC radio 4. Beyond 
Westminster: The case for replacing or revising our system of 
representative democracy. September 2009). A sound clip 
<http://www.iniref.org/cameron.bbc.mp3> may be heard or loaded down here 
http://www.iniref.org/cameron.bbc.mp3

At I&R ~ GB, the campaign for citizen-initiated referendum, for over a 
decade we have advocated similar reforms, to enhance our indirect 
"representative" democracy with elements of citizen participation in the 
periods between elections.
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CITIZEN-LED DEMOCRACY IS ESSENTIAL FOR SUSTAINABLE CONSTITUTIONAL REFORM

/EXTRACT <http://www.iniref.org/peoples.constitution.html>
/In almost all modern states there is a clear distinction between
constitutional and other law. Commonly, it is more difficult to change
constitution. For instance, a "super-majority" of elected
representatives may be required and an indication of regional consensus
needed. These measures serve to indicate how importantly constitution is
regarded. There are very good reasons to distinguish constitutional from
other law and to treat it with more care.

For decades, across the world, it has been accepted and practised that
only an electorate -- The People -- may enact a state constitution. In
many countries, a number of them in Europe, NO change can be made to
state constitution unless (a) the electorate has been informed and
consulted (b) a broad and extended public debate has been enabled and
organised (c) a referendum (plebiscite) has been held for the final
decision. READ MORE http://www.iniref.org/peoples.constitution.html 
<http://www.iniref.org/peoples.constitution.html>
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LOCAL GOVERNMENT ESTABLISHMENT OPPOSED TO MORE DEMOCRACY

In recent decades government and opposition have competed in offering 
suggestions to improve involvement of voters, citizens, in running 
public affairs. Most people (shown by research) regard voting in an 
election once every few years to be a very poor way of taking part. In 
surveys over 70 percent of adults approve that an agreed large number of 
voters should be able to trigger a referendum on any public issue.

Local government officials and politicians have voiced strong opposition 
to the introduction of citizens' initiatives which could lead to 
plebiscite, that is a referendum which can overrule the council. NLGN* 
appears to echo and amplify this fear, which is partly attributable to 
unfamiliarity with the procedures of citizen-led democracy. The 
"alternative" offered by NLGN resembles a petition. The council is not 
obliged to enact on the proposal and no referendum of the electorate is 
foreseen. This would make voter frustration even worse.

In democratic governance, if a vote is needed, there will usually be 
winners (majority) and losers (minority). These change profile from 
issue to issue. (Consensus is by no means excluded.) By claiming that 
minority rights will be abused if the electorate gains more say, NLGN 
unjustifiably raises fear. Which scenario of abuse do you predict?

We replied to a similar article at the web site of "Public Service" at 
http://www.publicservice.co.uk/news_story.asp?id=10593

More about citizen-led democracy may be found via our web site 
www.iniref.org
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I&R ~ GB

*NLGN = New Local Government Network

A reply to http://www.progressonline.org.uk/Magazine/article.asp?a=4682
Community proposal. Tory plans for local referendums need more thought. 
08 September 2009
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I&R ~ GB Citizens' Initiative and Referendum
Campaign for direct democracy in Britain

http://www.iniref.org/

Discuss or comment at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/democracy-forum
Donate via http://www.iniref.org/index2.html

** I&R ~ GB is independent of political parties.