Local Democracy Quotes

American democracy is a failure. It is a miserable failure. It has failed because it is a limited and racial and divisible democracy …. How can we fight for democracy in Burma, a country we have not seen, when we don't have democracy in Birmingham, a city we have seen.

A majority in all parties do, I think, want to see local government recover its old vigour and independence.

The value of democracy lies in the fact that good or bad government has its roots in the localities where people know each other and where they account for their actions to their neighbors.

Toronto deserves Rob Ford; they put him in office. Toronto deserves everything it gets.

Almost all government starts at a very local level at some point.

There's much more we can be doing in Parliament, we could be giving more power back to people at local government level, through local referendums.

Democracy, in any active sense, begins and ends in communities small enough for their members to meet face to face.

Mayors are accountable. Local governments are accountable.

The thing about local government is they want to hear what local people think, but for the most part, their systems are so long, dull and bureaucratic that people only get involved when there's an issue they really care about.

There are local interests peculiar to every town, whether great or small, and common to all its inhabitants: every town, therefore, without distinction of size, ought to have its municipal council.

Democracy is not just voting every 5 years and watching 'Big Brother' in between and wondering why nothing happens. Democracy is what we do and say where we live and work

Europe must be understood and controlled by its citizens.

You can't run a city by people who do not live there.

We want councillors and MPs to be more closely involved in housing issues because this will help to strengthen local democracy and accountability.

Perhaps democracy should be begun at the local level first. America was many local democracies before democracy came to the national level.

I was previously involved in local and state politics, but not national, because grassroots democracy starts at the bottom. This was the breaking point for me, though - and it made the case that in order to fight locally, we have to fight nationally; we can't afford to neglect any area of life in this democracy.

Those communal areas have got elected municipalities, which have got to do their work as, as fully, democratically elected municipal councils.

I want to see far more decisions taken far closer to the patients, the passengers and the pupils. Far more power for locally and regionally elected politicians who understand best the needs of their areas. And far more say too for the dedicated staff at all levels in health and education.

Incredibly, a typical town hall official spends 85% of their time satisfying ministers in Whitehall and a puny 15% of the day for local residents. We believe that this relationship is upside down.

Pakistan needs to have decentralisation and a good local government system.

what I love about city government is that the citizens can create whatever kind of city they're willing to build.

I think it is important the communities are listened to and that their voice is heard, particularly with local government boundaries more than parliamentary boundaries, because you are talking very much about communities. It can be a very emotive thing.

Mayors are accountable in the way a council is not. Who can name their local councillor?

For politicians to be honest, the public needs to allow them to be honest, and the media, which mediates between the politicians and the public, needs to allow those politicians to be honest. If local democracy is to flourish, it is about the active and informed engagement of every citizen.

Obviously local people will have their local voice through the police and crime commissioners that they've elected to determine their local policing.