Community forums are not representative

I have to agree with the concerns expressed by several councillors regarding proposals to put decision making powers in the hands of community forums (‘Anger at move to hand decisions to vested interests’ Courier December 16). While taking decision making out of the hands of politicians and putting into the hands of the public is in theory the ultimate democracy, it’s only going to work properly if a truly representative section of the public votes.
By The Newsroom
Published 29th Dec 2011, 08:37 BST

But, as Tim Naylor points out, the problem with community forums is that they attract a self-selecting audience that can be far from representative. This is certainly true of my local forum, which only seems to attract an audience of people over 50 years old.

So while community forums are a commendable way of enabling public and politicians to exchange information, ideas and concerns, until such time as somebody can think up a way of making them truly representative of the public as a whole I don’t think it’s a good idea to let them make decisions on important matters. - Graham Bell, Leamington Spa (full address supplied).