Public meetings are back!

Written by David Heath MP and published in Somerset Standard on Fri 6th Nov 2009

I did something that is considered unusual, even old-fashioned, a week ago. I spoke to a public meeting, in Frome, about current political issues. Not a meeting of the party faithful. Not an event called by a pressure group of one kind or another. Just a meeting open to the public where local people could hear what I have to say, ask questions, and, as importantly, I could listen.

I used to do them, years ago. Then we were told that nobody wanted public discussion. That everybody got their views, if at all, from the television and, more latterly, from the internet, and the day of the public meeting was long dead. I was reluctant, but I was persuaded that I was simply behind the times.

Well, I don't know if my audience at the Masonic Hall agree, but I think there is an appetite for genuine discussion again. One of the problems we have in our democracy at the moment is the disconnect between politicians and the public they are meant to serve. I've always valued the chance to keep in touch with people in the Frome area, and I'm proud that everyone knows they can come and see me at one of my surgeries at the library or just call in to the office in Catherine Hill. And if people want more, in terms of meetings like the one we had last week, then I'm all for it.