One of the charges levelled against the Corporation during the "Occupy" protests, is that the City is not democratic.
Here are the arguments put by Father William Taylor during the occupy protests, saying that the City is not democratic: (quoted here)
1. You need to be a ‘freeman’, and in order for that to happen you need a Liveryman or Common Councillor/Alderman to propose and second you (and then you need to pay £30).
My response:
This is a partial truth.
All City residents have an automatic right to become freemen after 12 months of residency in the City. Father Taylor knows this, but conveniently chooses to omit it. This is a legal entitlement, and does not go before Common Council for approval, who have no say in the matter. It does not cost anything. You do not need to belong to any Livery. I am a freeman of the City, and became a freeman by virtue of residency. I belong to no Livery Company.
2. To be an Alderman, you have to also be accepted as a Justice of the Peace.
My response: The City has operated under an ancient democratic constitution, elements of which date back to the reforms of the Roman Emperor Diocletian. Each Court (Ward) elected its magistrate, with the title Alderman. It used to be the case that an Alderman BECAME a Justice of the Peace for the City of London, by virtue of his or her election. There was no requirement that he be a JP before election. This deficiency was imposed on the City by the previous Labour government; as a result of Whitehall interfering, the City became less democratic.
This injustice has now been undone. It is no longer a requirement that a candidate for Alderman in a City of London election be a serving Justice of the Peace.
3. As an Alderman you are expected to take your turn as Lord Mayor. To be Lord Mayor you must have around £30,000 of your own money spare to throw a Lord Mayor's Banquet.
In other words, if you are poor and/or not well connected then you unable to stand as alderman.
My reply: I am sure that if under the new system for electing Aldermen, someone were to be elected as Lord Mayor who could not afford the banquet, it is unimaginable as a matter of political realism that this would present an obstacle to his or her election. It is also not true that all Aldermen become Lord Mayor, nor are they "expected" to do so.
The City is a very democratic institution. The high ratio of Councilmen to electors means that our democracy is truly representative - the electors in the City actually have a proper chance to get to know the people they are electing.
Here are the arguments put by Father William Taylor during the occupy protests, saying that the City is not democratic: (quoted here)
My response:
This is a partial truth.
All City residents have an automatic right to become freemen after 12 months of residency in the City. Father Taylor knows this, but conveniently chooses to omit it. This is a legal entitlement, and does not go before Common Council for approval, who have no say in the matter. It does not cost anything. You do not need to belong to any Livery. I am a freeman of the City, and became a freeman by virtue of residency. I belong to no Livery Company.
2. To be an Alderman, you have to also be accepted as a Justice of the Peace.
My response: The City has operated under an ancient democratic constitution, elements of which date back to the reforms of the Roman Emperor Diocletian. Each Court (Ward) elected its magistrate, with the title Alderman. It used to be the case that an Alderman BECAME a Justice of the Peace for the City of London, by virtue of his or her election. There was no requirement that he be a JP before election. This deficiency was imposed on the City by the previous Labour government; as a result of Whitehall interfering, the City became less democratic.
This injustice has now been undone. It is no longer a requirement that a candidate for Alderman in a City of London election be a serving Justice of the Peace.
3. As an Alderman you are expected to take your turn as Lord Mayor. To be Lord Mayor you must have around £30,000 of your own money spare to throw a Lord Mayor's Banquet.
In other words, if you are poor and/or not well connected then you unable to stand as alderman.
My reply: I am sure that if under the new system for electing Aldermen, someone were to be elected as Lord Mayor who could not afford the banquet, it is unimaginable as a matter of political realism that this would present an obstacle to his or her election. It is also not true that all Aldermen become Lord Mayor, nor are they "expected" to do so.
The City is a very democratic institution. The high ratio of Councilmen to electors means that our democracy is truly representative - the electors in the City actually have a proper chance to get to know the people they are electing.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: only a member of this blog may post a comment.