"Politics? Boring? Politics is history on the wing! What other sphere of human activity calls forth all that is most noble in men's souls, and all that is most base? Or has such excitement? Or more vividly exposes our strengths and weaknesses? Boring? You might as well say that life itself is boring!" Cicero, as reported by Robert Harris in Imperium

Politics is rarely boring, but the best fights happen behind closed doors – so you generally never know about them. This is a consequence of Party Politics and has been made worse by recent legislation, but it need not be like this. A majority of colleagues on East Herts Council have decided that rather than change, they will defend their actions and their leadership at the next election (click here). I cannot support this, but what is the choice for the voter?. So in May, you will have to decide which party to vote for on East Herts Council. What relevance does Westminster politics have in deciding how your rubbish is collected, or telling you where you can park your car? None at all ! At Parish, Town and District level it should be about people, not national parties. But this elected East Herts administration has wasted loads of your money, pays itself large amounts of allowances, stifles open debate, and tries to keep you in the dark.

It is time for serious change!

We need a non-party 'party' for independents – a really post-modern idea. There has to be a party (click here) but the voters should always come before the party. This is why my wife and I have started East Herts People: of course we want to protest against the wasted money, but also: we want to see more power and resources given to your elected District, Town or Parish Ward Members, and less power to Central Government and empire building politicians we want you to know what is going on behind the scenes; we want volunteer community representatives, not paid political party members. we want bottom-up not top-down local government in East Herts If this interests you, then please join up! £1 and your e-mail address gets you membership to 31 December 2009 (click here). As a member, in the New Year we will ask you and the other paid-up members in your Ward to choose a resident as a candidate for the May election. Could we see an army of East Herts People elected to East Herts Council in May 2007 ?

On my blog (click here), you can follow progress on growing the membership, and can contribute to the debates. We will be sending you regular e-mails as well, so let us know what you think.

Jim Thornton

"Sometimes if you find yourself stuck in politics, the thing to do is start a fight - start a fight, even if you do not know how you are going to win it, because it is only when a fight is on, and everything is in motion, that you can hope to see your way through." Cicero, as reported by Robert Harris in Imperium

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Email: info@ehpeople.org
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