Online vs Offline Petitions – Your Assistance is Needed
If someone you know stands in front of you and asks for a petition signature then most folk are likely to sign it, so not to be rude, if the subject is not too emotive. (This pic was taken when we did the last Windsor petition in July 2019).
If the same person asks you to sign an online petition, you are way more likely to ignore them and just get on with your day, as why bother, it’s not that interesting and it probably doesn’t impact you directly anyway.
I found, when I was a Cllr, if someone had an issue they would be on it 24/7, constantly asking for action… if that same issue was impacting someone around the corner, they’d not be that bothered, as it wasn’t their problem!
I launched a petition around the town councils 2 weeks ago and most of the 45 who have signed it did so a week ago…
Well it’s not, “Do you want your bins emptying 3x a week?” so not that emotive and it’s about adding another level of council stuff for Windsor and Maidenhead, what’s the point!
I understand that it doesn’t seem all that but it could be very important as devolution rolls out…
Devolution is essentially about creating councils of 500,000 people with far fewer Cllrs representing the people’s interests. As I see it, the main aim is to make it less bothersome for the government as they’d deal with fewer councils.
Currently RBWM is around 160,000 people and has 41 Cllrs, devolved councils would have 100 max, with a cabinet that would be very busy trying to influence Government decision making, so less time focused on local interests.
Parish and Town Councils give you that representation. There are currently 15 in RBWM but Windsor and Maidenhead towns don’t have one. In the UK, 80% of parishes have an electorate of less than 2,500 residents.
This means they are talking about things that are of real interest locally, that nobody could give a jot about 2 miles down the road!
So, if you think having some do-gooder championing your corner, all in all, is important… as long as it’s not your ear they are chewing off 😉
Thank you.
Jon Davey
Community Champion
