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MPs told parishes are backbone of local democracy
On 8 June 2015, the chairman of the National Association of Local Councils (NALC) sent an open letter to all English Members of Parliament, calling on them to support the nation's 9,000 local (parish and town) councils and meet with parish councillors during their Lobby Day on 30 June 2015.
The letter from England’s chief parish councillor, Cllr Ken Browse, is included in the Summer edition of NALC’s magazine and has been sent to all 533 MPs in England.
Cllr Ken Browse, chairman of NALC said: “I wanted to congratulate all English MPs on their election, but also ensure that right from the start of this Parliament, they all understand how important parishes are to our nation’s democracy and their important role improving the thousands of neighbourhoods and communities up and down the country.
“I also wanted to do something different, as I know MPs receive hundreds of items of correspondence each week, so I’ve included my letter in our national magazine and sent them all a copy.
“As they will see from the news, stories and features in the rest of the magazine, our brilliant corner of local government is making a real difference to local people and growing in importance as our councils develop their role and take on new services.
“We are holding our first ever Lobby Day on 30 June to raise the profile of parishes in Parliament and I’m asking MPs to meet with representatives from our county associations to find out more about our councils, our work and our manifesto; and crucially to work with us and help us make a difference to local people.”
NALC plans to hold its first ‘lobby day’ of parliament on 30 June 2015.