For More Local Democracy On Derry City Council
The People Before Profit Alliance is standing four candidates for Derry City Council in the 5 May elections.
They are Connor Kelly (Cityside ward), Diane Greer (Waterside Rural ward), Davy McAuley (Waterside ward) and Colm Bryce (Northland ward).
In the council, we will challenge the democratic deficit, where the big decisions about our future are made by unelected boards. These decisions should be made by the elected Council.
No Hidden Deals
We will expose all secret deals and demand that all debates on issues affecting the people are conducted in public. We will oppose job cuts and the privatisation of services which has removed vital services from public scrutiny. We will have no more of the waste management scandal in which private interests were able to overcharge ratepayers by presenting phoney paperwork which nobody from the Council was able to check.
Derry City Airport
We will oppose the scandalous waste of public money on Derry City airport. In recent years, local people in Eglinton were forced to sell their family homes for a runway extension, demanded by the ruthless profiteers Ryanair, that never happened and yet no-one was held to account.
Local People Before "Neighbourhood Partnerships"
We will campaign for genuinely representative community organisations - not the appointed and unaccountable "partnerships" which essentially speak for the authorities rather than respond to the needs of local communities. The recent case of Galliagh where local people had to resist a development which was being imposed on their area, against their wishes, by a so-called Neighbourhood Partnership should never be repeated. Derry City Council, far from upholding the wishes of the residents, blocked their protests and hid their own involvement in the project.
Abolish ILEX
We will demand the abolition of ILEX, the urban regeneration company, and insist that decisions about the future of the city are brought back under the democratic control of the local Council. ILEX has virtually nothing to show for over £21 million it has spent since being set up in 2003. The new bridge, which ILEX claims credit for, was built with money from the European Union. A recent review of ILEX found that, after 8 years, there was still absolutely no evidence of any private investment in the Fort George and Ebrington Barracks. The pie-in-the-sky plans for sky-scrapers and luxury apartments at Fort George collapsed with the recession. ILEX is now involved in the City of Culture bid, but mainly as a way of kick-starting another property boom.
A Vibrant City
What is needed is a campaign for massive government investment to create jobs, build public housing, expand the university and support public services and the arts. This is a far more realistic way to create a vibrant City.
They are Connor Kelly (Cityside ward), Diane Greer (Waterside Rural ward), Davy McAuley (Waterside ward) and Colm Bryce (Northland ward).
In the council, we will challenge the democratic deficit, where the big decisions about our future are made by unelected boards. These decisions should be made by the elected Council.
No Hidden Deals
We will expose all secret deals and demand that all debates on issues affecting the people are conducted in public. We will oppose job cuts and the privatisation of services which has removed vital services from public scrutiny. We will have no more of the waste management scandal in which private interests were able to overcharge ratepayers by presenting phoney paperwork which nobody from the Council was able to check.
Derry City Airport
We will oppose the scandalous waste of public money on Derry City airport. In recent years, local people in Eglinton were forced to sell their family homes for a runway extension, demanded by the ruthless profiteers Ryanair, that never happened and yet no-one was held to account.
Local People Before "Neighbourhood Partnerships"
We will campaign for genuinely representative community organisations - not the appointed and unaccountable "partnerships" which essentially speak for the authorities rather than respond to the needs of local communities. The recent case of Galliagh where local people had to resist a development which was being imposed on their area, against their wishes, by a so-called Neighbourhood Partnership should never be repeated. Derry City Council, far from upholding the wishes of the residents, blocked their protests and hid their own involvement in the project.
Abolish ILEX
We will demand the abolition of ILEX, the urban regeneration company, and insist that decisions about the future of the city are brought back under the democratic control of the local Council. ILEX has virtually nothing to show for over £21 million it has spent since being set up in 2003. The new bridge, which ILEX claims credit for, was built with money from the European Union. A recent review of ILEX found that, after 8 years, there was still absolutely no evidence of any private investment in the Fort George and Ebrington Barracks. The pie-in-the-sky plans for sky-scrapers and luxury apartments at Fort George collapsed with the recession. ILEX is now involved in the City of Culture bid, but mainly as a way of kick-starting another property boom.
A Vibrant City
What is needed is a campaign for massive government investment to create jobs, build public housing, expand the university and support public services and the arts. This is a far more realistic way to create a vibrant City.
