Subject:
          LETS VOTE ON IT Postbag March 22nd
    Date:
          Wed, 5 Apr 2006 18:44:50 EDT
    From:
          AdrianRomilly @ aol.com
      To:
          postbag@eveningherald.co.uk



Dear Postbag,

Your correspondent John Palmer (Postbag March 22n'd) challenges Tudor
Evans, the New Labour Leader of PCC to make the forthcoming election a
referendum on its decision to close Seaton Pool. It would be a good
thing if the Leader were to accept the challenge but I fear he will
not.  Even if he did and even if most of the electorate were opposed to
closure- as seems likely- it is by no means certain that Mr Palmer would
get the result he wants; if for example, the other parties supported
closure or the New Labour manifesto were to offer other sufficiently
attractive policies New Labour might still carry the day. The problem is
that a Party election Manifestos are like soups-  they contain many
ingredients and the voter must accept all the ingredients in his chosen
soup, he cannot 'pick and choose' between ingredients.

To obtain the referendum that Mr Palmer wants what is needed is an
amendment to the Council 's Constitution compelling the Council to call
a referendum on a given Council decision if, say, 5000 electors petition
the Council for a referendum on that decision.  Such constitutional
provisions are not uncommon in Switzerland, the USA, and several
European Countries but are unpopular with our political class for
reasons not hard to discern.

yours truly,

Adrian L Romilly