The most telling and we think, shameful vote conducted at the schools reform debate last Wednesday was in reaction to when Cllr Deborah Gardiner suggested that the public question time should be increased, as so many people in the public gallery were keen to raise points concerning the future of their children’s education.
After the chairman, Roger Mazillius, asked her to quantify how much longer it should be, Cllr Gardiner made the suggestion of a total 30 minutes – 15 minutes longer than the time normally set aside for public questions.
When it went to the vote, the councillors responsible for voting it down — ie. stopping the public from having their full say — were all from the Tory party.
Let’s not forget, that all that was being asked for was an extra 15 minutes for public questions.
No explanation is required when a vote is taken, so quite why the ruling Tory party decided to vote against the public having sufficient time to express their views and concerns on a matter like the future of their children’s education, remains a mystery.
The behaviour that the Tories displayed, in our minds, shows a high level of arrogance, indeed of such a high level, that it’s led them to forget who voted them into the position of power that they currently hold.
It’s not rocket science to understand that when the public feel that they’re not represented by the people they elected, they’re highly likely not to vote them into that position again.
Why would you?
