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Comment by Steve Daszko on March 20, 2013 at 19:14

Unfortunately, I was unable to attend today, due to work!

Comment by David Kreikmeier on March 20, 2013 at 15:12

Hi Christine - not sure if I can make it but there are a few questions I would like to be asked.

John Barker's electoral literature makes great play of issues that appear to have "gone wrong" recently and claims that he has the experience and length of service to help sort them out.

Which of course begs the question - as a very long serving Member, sitting on 18 Committees and Sub-Committees, where was he in the first place?

This isn't a flippant comment - I think anyone who moves from a London Borough (or other local authority area) to the City quickly becomes aware that the input and oversight of Members into the actions of the City (and especially the delivery of local authority services) often seems quite limited compared with the expectations of Members elsewhere.

There are some exceptions (and we are fortunate in having one of them actually on Golden Lane!), but generally Members seem to defer to the City's Officers.

 

Similarly, a number of them make great play about the fact that they don't receive allowances, unlike Members in local authorities and that they undertake their duties (effectively) on a voluntary basis.

However, in the days when ALL councillors undertook their roles on a voluntary basis, local authority committees were largely held in the evenings, unlike the City where they are held during the day.

This means that the pool of candidates is effectively limited to the retired, those of "independent means" or very senior business people whose companies see a potential benefit in having someone on the Court of Common Council (does anyone seriously think a City firm will allow an "ordinary working stiff" from admin or reception to be away from their jobs for the periods of time required to serve as a Member?

Could this be a reason why the Members appear unrepresentative (given that more than 50% of the City's resident population is under 45, 1 in 7 of us live in social housing, and 17.6% are ethnic minorities)?

 

Comment by Steve Daszko on February 19, 2013 at 10:25

I will be there.