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To: Ledbury Town Council

Ledbury Town Council Isn't Working. Start now!

We call on Ledbury’s town councillors to stop attacking their reforming colleagues and rebuild trust with the community.
We urge the Council to uphold the expected principles of democracy and good governance.
For the good of the town, we ask that the Council urgently:
1. Acts transparently and democratically from now on;
2. Commits to uphold the national standards of public life set out in the 'Nolan Principles'.
3. Undertakes a professional review of all aspects of its operations;
4. Improves its performance - councillors and staff - with the aim of gaining 'Quality Council' status within one year;
5. Expands its skills and improves its procedures to work more effectively, enable better debate and to encourage active public participation.
If any councillor feels unable or unwilling to pledge to do this and/or acts outside these priniciples, we call on them to stand for re-election with immediate effect.

Why is this important?

The people of Ledbury have lost confidence in their Town Council. They are sickened by the infighting and injustice which has dominated Council life in recent years.
Ledbury needs a skilled town council which can demonstrate good governance and is able to seize future opportunities for the town.
The Town Council is not fit for purpose as it stands. Councillors are often ill-informed and prejudiced. Democratic reform would include:
- Decisions always being made on evidence
- Councillors routinely receiving training and specialist advice
- The Council using experts from the community to inform its decisions
- Reports and proceedings documented in appropriate detail
- Providing a responsive service to questions and correspondence from the public.
Other award-winning town councils like Frome, Oswestry and Milton Keynes (Campbell Park) have shown the potential rewards that come from active citizen participation in charting an inspiring future for their towns.
Ledbury Town Council should aspire to these models of excellence and commit to the Nolan Principles: Selflessness, Integrity, Objectivity, Accountability, Openness, Honesty, Leadership.

Ledbury, Herefordshire

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Updates

2016-05-25 17:29:17 +0100

100 signatures reached

2016-05-24 16:16:20 +0100

We're up to about 300 signatures, 99 online, but a whole lot more gathered in Ledbury town. Reaction has been fantastic. When you say: it's a petition to get a better town council, people roll their eyes, and smile ironically. Then they sign. Please help us to get to a thousand signatures! This would send a powerful message.

2016-05-19 11:38:04 +0100

50 signatures reached

2016-05-18 09:06:31 +0100

25 signatures reached

2016-05-17 17:42:13 +0100

10 signatures reached