NEIGHBOURHOODIES

28-11-2006

The classic Ealing Comedy "Passport to Pimlico" imagined local people taking full control of their own affairs. Now one community has contacted The Stirrer to tell us how they want to make that fantasy a reality.

Purton in Wiltshire is making history, as the scene of a radically new political movement. A group of young people have formed their own political party! They call it Neighbourhood Democracy Network, and they call themselves `Neighbourhoodies'.

It is not a national body, although they hope the message will be taken up by other neighbourhoods all over the country, and indeed all over the world.

They are fed up with top down mass politics and they want ground up politics. So they want the people of Purton to run all Purton local affairs.

They think the people of Purton are fully capable of running their own schools, surgery, police, planning, shopping licences, pensions and other local concerns. The present system is breaking down. They are fed up with remote unelected anonymous officials deciding things.

They want to restore family owned shops and to keep the big chains and supermarkets out. They want to protect and promote local farming, the local shops to stock only local milk, butter, eggs, vegetables, meat and other produce and only to sell other items when they are not available from Purton farms.

They are already expanding on the network and there has been an enthusiastic response from the United States and New Zealand, where the move for `small is powerful' is growing.

Already the idea has caught on; supporters are having a special get together to adopt a programme in Oxford on December 2nd and anyone can come. The attendance fee is £20 to include documents and a bumper organic lunch, with get together in the evening.

For information: www.4wr.org