Election Fever?

It would seem that the recent LRTC Elections here in Lyme have been a lesson to us all, but the lesson learned isn't about elections, but about internet etiquette (netiquette). Worth remembering that whatever you put on the net, is there forever. It can never be deleted, and might one day return to haunt you.

Not that it's been an election with the result influenced by the internet. It hasn't been, even though the local press gave coverage to questionable Facebook comments. Aside from videos of candidates made by LymeRegisTV, and a few comments on personal walls, there has been very little internet activity. Most of the action has been out on the street, and having been out leafleting myself, I can tell you that between the candidates, new and old, it's all been peace, love and promises of future friendship. "If you get elected, I'll support you on this that or the other issue", has been the main measure of both agreement and disagreement. No doubt the knives are hidden behind the back, but for the time being, all is well.

There's no doubt either that the Council needed change, we all know that, but it's still unfair to criticise the old (or previous) council for their assumed inactivity. Rhetoric about 'a council fit for purpose' is merely electioneering, it isn't a presentation of policy. Being a Councillor isn't about making decisions, it's about acting on them, putting in the work behind the scenes to make change happen. Having observed Council meetings through a camcorder lens for the last few years, I can tell you, it isn't always the council that moves slowly, there's often the matter of getting agreement with other councillors, besides being able to move only at the prevailing speed of Local Govt, which is dead slow. In 4 years time, the llikelihood is that the 'new' council will be just as reviled as the 'old' one.

There is one word used in every election address that I find really questionable, it's the word 'affordable', used in connection with 'housing'. You could search the length and breadth of the UK, and what you would find is that there is no such animal as 'affordable housing'. Not true either that the Council hasn't done it's best in this direction. A few years ago, there was an Affordable Housing Day, during which, citizens were asked to put flags in likely spots. This exercise, except for one unlikely site, drew a blank. I can't see much good coming from looking at empty houses either, what happens, as the council found out a couple of years ago, is that the moment you make a move on a property, the owner turns up out of the blue, as if by magic, and tidies it up. More radical answers are needed. Most work in Lyme is seasonal, and worse, part-time. Many people who work in Lyme travel here from out of town, they can't afford to live here. For new employers and new business to be attracted to the area, Lyme needs a 'work force'. It doesn't have one. Lyme needs a patch of land on which at least 40 houses can be built, and for them to remain useful to the town, they have to be 'affordable' to more than the first owner. Unless radical answers are found, Lyme will continue it's economic decline. This question isn't merely about the offspring of residents finding a house here, it's about the economic future of the town.

In fact, the 'old' council has a lot of successful projects to its credit, one of then coming to fruition in July when the new shelters are open. To say that the council doesn't involve the people is a blatant lie, and proposing to move the council round to different venues isn't change, it's just moving the council round to different venues. Giving discussion time for the public to meet the council is already done, that's what the Public Forum does.

Change is gradual, the best and most valuable changes don't happen overnight. It's taken a number of years for the council to change, and much of the groundwork has already been done, significantly, three councillors have been instrumental in reconstructing the council in order for the public to be involved. Sally Holman changed the committee basis by the formation of the Community Development Partnership Committee which has involved many local organisations in future planning. Lorna Jenkin was instrumental in updating the speed of council work by developing the council website, and Lucy Campbell is the brains behind Insparation, and the generator of many other youth projects. The channel for change has been 'Lyme Forward', in which all three of these councillors have played a part, and without which, the new candidates wouldn't have had a platform to prove their worth in the first place.

Our councillors work very hard. The job is unpaid, and for some, full time. There are those who don't speak a lot at meetings, and some who speak too much. I would advise the new members that there is a difference between proposing changes, and rhetoric. You don't have to be grand standing to prove your worth.