Letter: When will council join the 80 per cent

Over 16,500 Sheffield voters have now signed Sheffield People’s Petition, organised by It’s Our City! community network. That’s 16,500 local people demanding that their Council moves away from the current undemocratic system used to make Council decisions, where only 10 councillors have the power to make nearly all decisions in the Council and the other 74 councillors, (from all parties), have little power. Those 16,500 citizens are demanding that their Council changes to use a more democratic decision-making system. One where ALL councillors have the power to do the job the people of Sheffield elect them to do. A democratic, modernised decision-making system will mean councillors from all the different political parties working together with communities, experts and citizens to do the very best for Sheffield, making our city more powerful and better able to combat the uncertainties of the future. Only 3,592 more signatures are needed to reach the target of 20,092 before the petition is presented to the council. When it is presented, the Council will be forced into action, because the petition will have legal power to start the process of change under the 2011 Localism Act. All over Sheffield’s varied communities, It’s Our City! is having face-to-face conversations with tens of 1000s of citizens while collecting signatures for the petition. When people hear how undemocratic the current system is, they are astounded, because they naturally assume that all the councillors they elect actually have the power to represent the people that elect them. It’s no wonder that in these conversations, people want a better system for Sheffield and that over 80% immediately sign the petition. This is a clear indication that over 80% of Sheffield citizens want their Council to change. When the petition is presented, the Council will be legally forced to act. However, our council can choose at any time before then, to embrace the input of citizens and take the decision itself to change to a more democratic decision-making system. When will Sheffield Council join the 80%? Petition: www.itsoursheffield.co.uk