I’ve loved the news today. With the confirmation that gravitational waves exist, we can see the universe the way it is. It is a whole new way of looking at the space and time, and understanding it better. I take my hat off to the scientists who have taken the power of information to an extraordinary level.
This doesn’t happen in Shropshire of course. At least not at Shropshire Council.
A few years ago, I published an article on Lib Dem Voice suggesting that our council was slipping into a black hole of democracy. I wasn’t a councillor then. Nearly two years after being elected, I don’t have a better view of the council. When it can keep information secret, it will. It loves to make decisions in camera, with the press and public excluded. That has not changed one bit with the election of the new leader.
Earlier in the week, I published an article about an attempt to [censored by Shropshire Council]. It involved a committee called [censored by Shropshire Council]. I have been asked by council officials to remove the post.
It seems that this committee, which I had never heard of, is a secret affair. I hadn’t understood that. The papers were not marked confidential. There is nothing in them that needs to considered confidential. But officers say the meeting is a secret meeting so I cannot write about it. So I can’t tell you that the meeting was intending to recommend [censored by Shropshire Council].
It seems I have made a mistake by erring on the side of telling people what is going on, rather hiding matters from the public. I have agreed to withdraw the blog post, at least as far as I am able to in this social media age.
I have hidden the offending blog post from public view. For the first time I am censored.
This episode shows just how out of touch Shropshire Council is with modern media. If we can detect gravitational waves that resulted from a scrap between two black holes one and a half billion years ago, surely we can find a blog posted a day ago? Like gravitational waves, it’s out there. Only it’s easier to discover my posts on Facebook, Twitter and multi social media world many of us live in.
If we want democracy to work, we need to share information. We need to open up decision making to the public. This is easy stuff – except of course when some people don’t want to engage with the public because they have something to hide. What Shropshire Council has to hide is [censored by Shropshire Council].
Just as well I read it before you were censored – shame on them – please keep informing us of the “goings-on” at SCC – why on earth shouldn’t we know, we pay the money that they spend?
In the interests of free speech, here is a link to the text of the censored blog post:
http://pastebin.com/aT33mWFb
Well done gettingbitter
Andy KEEP GOING! Now repeat on this blog MR P’s press release on his appointment.One has to wonder who was the original Mr Barrowboy. PUBLIC ACCOUNTABILITY!!!???????
Andy your blog on this page has been censored by an elected council.The council now has a public duty to give its case for its censorship on the same forum or be held in contempt under common law.
Mr Boddington
As my elected Shropshire council representative ( Ludlow North) can you please tell me about the roll of the Political Structures Monitoring Group and inform me of who makes up this committee.
If because of censorship you are unable to do this, can I submit a freedom of information request to Shropshire Council or would our MP be able to supply the information or would he be censored as well.
The interesting question is how Shropshire Council can, legally, censor placing in the public domain something that cannot be a Part 2 item. I doubt if it can. ALDC should be able to advise how to publish this and basically you could dare SC to do something illegal. A useful campaign tool, fighting against secrecy!