“IN MY OPINION THERE IS MORE DEMOCRACY IN IRAQ”, said one local wag as he walked out in disgust from the November Single Area Committee meeting held in the Southport Town Hall and under the stewardship of the Liberal but not very Democratic Party.

The above humorous comment just about summed up the thoughts of many residents who witnessed the appalling suppression of ‘freedom of speech' in accordance with the European Human Rights Law of 1991. Blatant toadying was also seen to be used by the same party chairperson with generous time being given to LibDem Councillor comments.

Looking back to the October meeting, NO parent, teacher or anyone else present was allowed to discuss the proposed school closures. From the beginning, no local newspaper advertising money has ever been allocated by Sefton Council to inform our residents of the monthly details or agenda of these meetings even though they spent £35,000 on a referendum to create them. Sadly the glass-fronted notice board outside the Town Hall only contained a skewed and crumpled sheet of A4 paper informing residents about this meeting. It was also buried amongst other items in small print and was difficult to find.

The Councillors present at these meetings sometimes leave the chamber before the belated question time, perhaps a ploy to avoid having to answer any difficult questions. Question time is now placed at number 6 on the agenda, even though it was officially designated for the first 60 minutes of each meeting.

When the Chapel Street Pedestrianisation scheme was presented at the recent meeting, with full visual displays, NO residents' questions were allowed on the subject and only Councillors were permitted to speak.

The Party feels that these shortcomings, certainly about the freedom of speech and the erosion of democracy, need to be quickly addressed before any Single Area Committee meetings take place in the future.