What can I say?

How interesting and informative can this blog be? To what extent can I really express my opinion on matters of importance to people in Waldingfield? The spirit of blogging depends on the promotion of personal opinion and, like most people who put themselves forward as candidates for public office, I have some pretty clear ideas about how I think ‘things should be done’. The trouble is that by expressing my views about specific matters too forcefully it seems that I might, if elected, disqualify myself, from participating in the decision making process.

A concrete example illustrates the point. A year or so ago it was difficult to miss articles in the local press about the plight of those Babergh District councillors who signed a petition opposing the development of land on the edge of Great Cornard. Having made their opinions clear they were excluded from the council chamber when the issue was debated and they were also prevented from voting on the matter. Had they not been excluded the decision to develop the land might have gone the other way. This local example has been mirrored many times around the country, giving rise to complaints that debate is being stifled and the democratic process undermined. (For further examples see the Cornerstone Report ‘A Question of Standards, Prescott’s Town Hall Madness', by Paterson and Howarth.)

I contacted the relevant officer at Babergh District Council for some guidance with regard to this issue and received a prompt and useful reply.

It seems that those who signed the petition with regard to land at Cornard, together with many other Councillors around the country, fell foul of the rules with regard to Predetermination. This is a common law concept which has been taken up and enforced with enthusiasm by the Standards Board for England, a body created by the present Government some years ago. The basic rule is that any local councillor who has, or gives the appearance of having a closed mind in respect of a particular issue is precluded from participation in debate or from voting on that issue. Saying what one thinks about a hot local topic in an election campaign does not necessary preclude one from subsequently voting on an issue. It may however, presumably if expressed with too much vehemence, be deemed to be evidence of a 'closed mind.' It is all a matter of degree.

This is troublesome. Where should one draw the line? When campaigning it is hard to maintain an ambivalent stance without being considered indecisive at best, evasive or dishonest at worst. If I expressed my opinion against, let us say, a proposed development in the Ward, I might automatically disqualify myself from doing anything about this when elected, despite having been elected at least in part because electors supported by opinion. In my view a principal role of an elected representative is to champion the interests of electors. The rules on Predetermination can,it seem, make this difficult.

Factors such as the membership of a lobby group can also apparantlybe interpreted as evidence of having already made up one’s mind about an issue. Have I already burnt my boats in this respect? Does my membership of the Council for the Preservation of Rural England preclude me from being on the Planning Committee? What might be read into the few pounds a month I give to the ‘oldies’ at the Dogs Trust, or the subscription to the Child Poverty Action Group? What about letters that I have written to the press over the years stating in black and white my views on various topics? How about my participation in the Countryside Alliance March several years ago? The list could go on….

Restrictions such as these inevitably result in unintended consequences. It seems far safer for a candidate to campaign on issues which in reality they have little chance of influencing when in office than those which really affect the people they are trying to represent. Thus it seems one can safely express trenchant opinions on local issues which fall within the remit of some other branch of Government. In this connection for example I can unequivocally say without fear that, like Colin Spence, I am absolutely opposed to the closure of the Walnuttree Hospital.

Difficulties caused by the activities of the Standards Board for England have not gone unnoticed, and before the elections on 3rd May it is likely that some aspects of the current guidelines will be relaxed. I will report on changes as and when they are available.

In the meanwhile I must assure all readers that I do have views, and hope to state them. I also hope, if I become a councillor after May 3rd, to express the concerns of those who I represent. It must always be borne in mind however that I will always consider alternative views!