March 28, 2001 14:50: The time has come to expose the lie that is local government "consultation". In recent years so-called consultation has mushroomed. A Council decides on a course of action it wishes to take and designs a questionnaire aimed at eliciting either as much support for the proposal as possible or producing sufficient confusion in the responses that they are able to claim up is down and down is up.

This cynical abuse of power is leading to a disillusionment in local democracy which until recently had been reserved for the last Tory Government (and now this New Labour one).

The latest "reorganisation consultation" by this council is a classic example of this phenomenon. An incredibly confusing and biased document was made available. When local campaigners choose to make a clear statement on the form thousands of these statements were ignored. This will not only harm education in Greenwich, but also the credibility of the council.

Any real democracy is a living thing in the hands of ordinary people. Schools, hospitals and other public services make a difference to our lives and we should have real control over decisions made about them.

The next time George Gyte or any other council manager or councillor wants to talk about consultation, they should make sure they open the process to real democracy and are not police, judge and jury. Better still, they should state their aims when we vote for them and stick by them. I for one did not vote to close any schools in our borough and will be looking for an alternative the next time. I hope one can be found in the form of the recently formed Socialist Alliance.

Tony Aldis

Plum Lane

Plumstead