Summary

The public has little democratic say about Manchester, its leadership and its future. For too long a few names have dominated, influenced and gained an advantage from their position, in power, in planning, in property and local politics. This petition demands a change in the powerplay of the few in the city and demands new accountability.

This petition calls upon citizens of all political and no political background to demand a say in scrutiny into power, a call for a change of personnel, leaders and new talent within the Council, declaring this a crisis of current citizens having no confidence in this leadership.

Specifics

• The request calls for a two or three election term limit on the time leaders can serve and for the public discussion of a forward facing campaign as to who comes as a successor at Manchester City Council after Richard Leese.
• Signing the petition supports the curtailing property directorships or leadership retiring into multiple roles into the property industry. The petition demands scrutiny and accountability of given positions, such as Leese, Bernstein, Priest and other Council officers. Some of these property relationships are with human rights abusers, tax avoiders, have damaged communities, heritage and escalating costs of living in these concerning networks of luxury franchises and networks.
• Manchester City Council has been on special measures before with the Information Commissioners Officer, and several national organisations and journalists are frustrated by the lack of transparency for 'commercial sensitivity' or 'interests of individuals' as reasons to reject information about the damaging direction of policy and questions of accountability. This petition calls on and highlights the need for greater awareness and a change in policy about ensuring there is genuine transparency. This apolitical Council would impact the planning of the city and regeneration plans made in a public forum.
• With a crisis in planning, this petition calls for the reviews of policies and the change of personnel and leadership in the Planning Department, with a focal point on new essential talent recruitment in a department overseen by the Roscoes and Bartoli. The rapid and inadequate development plans, which appear to break core strategy and other policies, need to be urgently mitigated via increased scrutiny, research and collaboration in what is developed rather than a top-down and evasively inadequate approach.
• These crises include avoiding affordable housing, failures to assist homelessness, the biases of planning officers witnessed in planning meetings, biases in favoured and political organisations, choices of developers and architects, concerns of nepotism and cronyism as well as closed-door meetings, the failures of green policy, green architecture, air quality, design standards, construction quality and streets safety, damaging heritage, excluding communities and public voices in having a say in their city.
• This petition calls for a change in public-facing appeals and abused standards of office or excluding people from public scrutiny. An example is the City Centre Spokesperson role as a publicly unelected role. Labour Councillors were told that after the May 2018 election Pat Karney's position had ended. This petition calls for a communications officer spokesperson role and not a politically unaccountable individual.

• Signing the petition is seeking for platforms of impartiality, research and influence for communities and citizens based focused group which influences policy and represents many professions, community groups, research groups - all of whom do not have a political emphasis of control. A roving impartial chair would be sought for such quarterly meetings seeking to discuss the best methods forward for a city creatively and collaboratively.

• There are many positions of long-term power from decades which present concerning inertia and damage to a city, in which many want change.

Conclusions

Ultimately, in many areas of the city, increasing numbers of people have no confidence in the leadership direction, its vested interests and the damage it is causing the city. This petition will indicate how many people have this concern and want it raised as a public issue and want to see changes made in addressing this hierarchical approach that has led and contributed to many crises and conflates anger and disconnect in the city.

These examples are not exhaustive but are asking for redress in power, position, political influence and what is becoming a no say city run by the few.

Accountability, scrutiny, change and new talent are now crucial to seeking a different future after areas of too long leadership.

For a powerless citizenship lead by old and failing paternalism, this petition is key in demanding and raising a voice for change.