Glorious, absolutely glorious!
Voters will be given powers to decide how ten of millions of pounds
should be spent in their neighbourhood under radical plans being
unveiled today.
In a potentially dramatic extension of direct
democracy, councils will have to hold ballots before deciding where
money should be targeted. It would mean that, for the first time,
people could direct cash to areas that concern them most, such as
parks, curbing antisocial behaviour, targeting drug trouble spots or
cleaning up litter.
Aren’t you just hugging yourself with joy at the idea that people will get to decide how to spend their own money?
Only one small problem. We’ve already got a system to do this, called parish councils. Why not just pass the money to them and let them get on with it?
Or does that not meet the need to have the people as supplicants?
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