Derek Deedman

It has been claimed recently that politics do not come into a Parish Council. But they do!

Nearly everything local authorities do is political and parish councils are the building block on which our local democracy is built. They may not have many direct powers, but they do provide some services and also have a lot of influence on what the Districts and County Councils do – from planning proposals to the way and for whom services are provided.

And so in some areas parish/town councils are also run on party political lines. This is not the case in most rural areas such as ours, but our Parish Councils still make political choices. Examples include: _

•  Making recommendations on planning applications (e.g. blocks of flats instead of big houses, provision of accommodation for people with learning difficulties or for affordable and/or social houses on open spaces.)
• To provide bus shelters to encourage bus use instead of cars.
• Provision of skateboard sites which might be opposed by nearby residents.
• Deciding on the level of Council Tax precept and therefore the range of services to be provided by the Parish Council.
• Responding to consultation from the District Council on the number of affordable/social houses in major housing developments or whether car parking charges should be introduced.  
• Responding to the County Council on the priority of highway developments proposed in the area and whether planning development funds should be used to support particular County Council schemes.
  

But, of course, it is not just that parish councils are political, the parish councillors making the decisions are exercising political choices based on their own political views. So although they may stand for election with no political label, if they normally support and/or are a member of a political party, it is likely that the policies of that party will have a strong influence on the way they vote on parish council matters.