Trigger happy (From The Oxford Times)

Trigger happy

9:29am Thursday 22nd July 2010 in

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New trigger points for residents’ concerns to be debated at council meetings or for council officers to be called to account are ridiculous.

Are we really to believe that a petition of 1,500 signatures should prompt a debate at Oxford Town Hall or that a petition of 16,000 should provoke a debate at County Hall?

We are all grown up enough to understand when there is sufficient public interest for matters to be debated at any of our local authorities.

In our experience, the residents of Oxfordshire have no difficulty in forcing our civic leaders to explain themselves when they have concerns.

Arbitrary trigger points on petitions will, we are glad to say, not change that.