Sign here, please …… – Will the encouragement of Local petitions and the Councillors’ Call for Action stimulate better dialogues?

Those who wish to influence detailed aspects of these new policies have till 20th March to comment. But, although they apply only to England, the underlying principles raise interesting questions which extend to all public bodies, or even to private firms or third sector organisations – in fact any that operate in the public domain.

This is because these new ideas are based on an assumption that accountability matters and that responsiveness to the public is “empowering”. There is now broad consensus on the need to re-invigorate democracy, and that one of the ways to do it is to provide more tools or levers that people can use to make things happen. The political rhetoric today even talks of “devolution to the doorstep”!