The Plymouth Citybus sale shows there's no democracy in local politics. Lib Dem Stuart Bonar has the answer

By PRSD, on Thursday, December 3, 2009

With no majority of votes or public mandate, the Vivien Pengelly Tory crew were able to ride rough-shod over public opinion and cross-party opposition to sell Plymouth Citybus. How come? And how can we ensure a democratic process? Stuart Bonar, Lib Dem Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for Plymouth Moor View, has the answer…

We all know the central argument against Plymouth City Council’s sell-off of Citybus: there was no public mandate for it or any cross-party consensus.

The council is run by the Tories, and there was no mention of a sale in their last local manifesto. Added to that, the Tories have resisted calls by the Liberal Democrats and others to hold a public vote on the idea. At no point have voters endorsed the sale.

The Lib Dems opposed the sell-off. Labour opposed the sell-off. Even UKIP wanted a public vote. One party alone, the Tories, with no explicit public support, wanted it. This didn’t matter in the end, of course. The Conservatives have a fat majority on the council, and can push through whatever they like.

What is so deeply unfair about all this is the fact that the Tories have a fat majority – almost twice as many councillors as their opposition – despite having never won a majority of votes cast. More voters, combined, back the Lib Dems, Labour, UKIP, or others. Yet, despite the fact that more people want someone other than the Tories, Plymouth is governed by a council that’s almost two-thirds Conservative.

The decision to flog off Citybus is a concrete example of how wrong, unfair and undemocratic this system is, and the direct effect it can have on the everyday lives of local people. This isn’t some dry academic debate.

There is a better way. A fair voting system would give each party a number of councillors that more accurately matches the number of votes cast.

A fair voting system would mean that voters who back the Lib Dems, Labour or indeed any party other than the Tories would have a voice loud enough to be heard in the debates about what happens here in Plymouth. This isn’t ‘pie in the sky’ stuff either, Scottish councils are elected in this way.

Lib Dems want to see a fairer voting system not just for councils, but for Parliament too. It’s simply the right and fair thing to do.

• Stuart Bonar is Lib Demt Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for Plymouth Moor View