Councils should introduce Scottish-stylee-petitionsto engage people in local
politics, according to aNew Local
Government Network(NLGN)research paper.
The paper argues that allowing citizens to publicly petition
councils to debate and review spending and policy commitments would
give them direct influence over how local services are delivered
and encourage greater democratic participation.
Some citizens, however, complain that this what some councils do
not want.
NLGN says that e-petitions could become an effective tool in
creating a constant dialogue between communities and their elected
representatives, "helping to maintain a conversation in between
elections and engaging voters, particularly young people".
The paper points towards "the success" of the formal
e-petitioning process used in the Scottish Parliament, which allows
citizens to raise issues and concerns.