Unitary Status Disgrace
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10 February 2010
Rt Hon Gordon Brown
10 Downing Street
LONDON SW1A 2AA
Dear Rt Hon Gordon Brown
Relationship between Government and the Public
I am deeply concerned that the public are being alienated and its views regarded as irrelevant by Government, both at national and local level.
As a responsible citizen with no party political allegiance, I vote at each election according to my conscience. My wife and I never vote to further our own personal interests, but rather for the person or party we consider will govern and serve best for the good of all.
I am a septuagenarian and a retired schoolteacher, having worked with children and
families all my life. Besides following my vocation here in Exeter, I have given
about twenty hours a week as a volunteer youth leader for seventeen years, and a
further twenty-
The problem for the Club was that local government would not engage openly with us, but made its decisions without our involvement. The City Council’s former Labour administration unilaterally and wantonly demolished the clubhouse which the Club had furnished at its own expense with toilets, sewerage, washing and kitchen facilities, electricity and other improvements. The Council has also burnt its boats in other respects to eliminate all traces of the Club and make restitution virtually impossible.
Until this atrocity by remote management located in the Civic Centre, relations between the Club and the local Councils had been excellent for decades. Being deprived of the opportunity to benefit children in an effective manner, I have turned my attention to politics in the wider sense. The Heavitree Arch in Exeter showed similar contempt for public opinion by Exeter City Council, and I have been highlighting this in our campaign.
For the last three years, I have talked extensively with people to hear their views and experiences of government. Those in power have little idea how isolated from the electorate they have become. Far too many are telling me they have no intention of voting, feeling it is pointless. Democracy is seriously sick. Folk believe they have no real choice. Their representatives pretend to listen, and then do their own thing regardless.
I have been further disillusioned by the Boundary Committee which I have discovered to be a sham. With my new found interest in politics, I took considerable pains to examine unitary status issues, and made a detailed submission to the Committee. My document opined on matters involving local government, the public, community and the welfare of children. The unique hyperlinks in my email were never accessed, proving my submission was not even read, let alone examined. This may also be true of all submissions from individual members of the public. The Summerway Campaign’s www.sumcam.co.uk website points to pages on my principal website which describe the treatment I have encountered. I have reported this to the Boundary Committee, and commented to the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government on the shoddy and bad advice he has been given.
My fear is that those emails will receive similar treatment from the Secretary of State as they did from the Boundary Committee. I observed yesterday evening’s meeting of Exeter City Council’s Executive Committee, and learned of serious unjust discrimination against eleven councils, Exeter being one, by the Department of Communities and Local Government. What is going wrong with this branch of Government, giving guidance and then breaking its own rules inequitably? It may even transpire that this letter will not receive attention, so I would be grateful to receive a response indicating that it has been read and understood.
I would greatly appreciate your comments on the issues raised in this letter.
Yours sincerely
Jim Harle
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cc Rt Hon John Denham MP, Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government
Rt Hon David Cameron MP, Leader of Her Majesty's Official Opposition and Leader of the Conservative Party
Nick Clegg MP, Leader of the Liberal Democrat Party
www.summerway.org
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Letter to the Prime Minister
(Sent 10th February 2010)
The letter used the same Summerway Campaign letterhead as the Prince Charles letter.
A mock-
A courteous acknowledgement dated 24th February 2010 was received from Mr S Caine of the 10 Downing Street Direct Communications Unit.
This advised that my letter to the Prime Minister, for which he thanked me, had been forwarded to the Department of Communities and Local Government so that they may reply direct. It is to be hoped that one of the copies received by the Department might be read and produce a response.