Local authorities, like the national government, appear increasingly to be seen to be out of touch with grassroots opinion. The policy-making process is often viewed as being too distant from the electorate, who find it harder to get their views across even to the local politicians and councillors who are there to represent them.

It is not surprising, therefore, that many districts are now looking at more direct local democracy in the shape of parish councils. New ones have recently been created at Haworth and Horsforth. There have been calls for them to be set up in Shipley, Bingley and Pudsey. And now Queensbury is joining the fray with 4,000 questionnaires being distributed in a bid to gain the backing of the ten per cent of the electorate needed to persuade Environment Secretary John Prescott to allow a new parish council to be created.

In many ways this rush to form new, locally-based authorities is a sad indictment of the failure of the district council to reach out to all the communities which are its constituent parts, clear evidence of which is shown in the poor turn-out at local elections.

The situation seems to be getting worse, with every likelihood that it will deteriorate further with the legislation to modernise local government which seems designed to enable local authorities to hide most of their decision-making in secret meetings if they so choose.

If enough people feel that setting up a more accessible council of their own is a better way of getting their views aired, then more power to their elbow.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.