I don't like the way in which the "debate" about road charging for Manchester city centre is going. I think Manchester City Council are taking the public for fools. Their propaganda is based on a supposed consultation, but is just a flimsy exercise in packaging something as a done deal, as if it were bidding for the Commonwealth Games of something. This latest twist today, kind of shows how poor the case is being made. The four examples used in the leaflet Terry from Rochdale, etc, are actually models from the USA.
I'm not surprised, but how hard would it have been to find four real people?
Strangely, there is a case to be made for road charging. Neil Tague went to a debate this morning where Sir Howard Bernstein, the chief executive of Manchester city council, presented a very well put together plan which people supported. I've also heard SHB and the council leader Sir Richard Leese make a cogent argument.
A link to the made up "testimonials" is here
A full link to the story on the BBC website is here.
1 comment:
As an ex-public sector worker in Manchester who had the misfortune to be in spitting distance of a "public consultation" department (which consisted of two hardcore lefties), I can confirm that the whole idea of "public consultation" is a load of rubbish.
Any comments received via telephone from members of the public were binned if they were negative about a proposal. They just simply weren't recorded and entered into the mix.
Comments received via fax/post (this was before the days of email) were often discarded. The whole process was entirely unprofessional. Using fakes to pose as blokes from Rochdale is just the tip of the iceberg if my experience of public sector consultation is anything to go by.
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