We want greater transparency, accountability and a return to the principles of democracy among the ruling class in its behaviour towards the citizens of Goole, East Riding of Yorkshire, and the wider UK.

The Goole Town Deal promised £25 million to improve Goole for citizens. The obvious first step was to consult citizens on what their priorities were within the focus of the scheme. That was never done. Instead, East Riding Council appointed board members who need the Council’s approval for their businesses or organisation’s goals – they cannot therefore exercise independent judgement. When criticisms were made, money was allocated to hiring a PR professional to tell the public what they wanted. The consultations have been stage managed to support what the decision makers want – they are not meaningful. More than four years on there is little that the public value for all the talk, acres of positive news stories and PR, and promise of £25 million worth of value for residents. No  expense spared on the RaisE building and the rest of Junction 36 (business rates go straight out of Goole to Beverley and Westminster while  the older established parts of town continue to deteriorate.

Similarly, in Hull and East Riding there was a sham consultation on an elected mayor which was managed to produce the results the decision makers, the ruling class, want. Another big ego flooding us with photo opportunities telling us how things are going to be rather than genuinely taking on board what the public want.

Anybody who offers less than unwavering support for those in power is sidelined, rubbished, publicly maligned and blocked. The local paper seems little more than a propaganda tool for the governing class, and at least one of the Goole Facebook groups has a councillor as an administrator.

The last local elections in Goole had a turnout of less than 20%. The leader of East Riding Council, Anne Handley, got 830 votes to represent Goole’s north ward (see: https://www.eastriding.gov.uk/council/elections-and-voting/election-results/ward-election-results/ward-election-result/?entry=20230504_ward_full_goolenorth). This says it all about how disillusioned Goole people are with the ruling class in this area. They have no faith any more that voting makes a difference. This is very dangerous for democracy.

Nationally the UK Government has been dismantling accountability and undermining democracy for years. Regulators don’t have any teeth any more. Employment rights have been weakened. The right to demonstrate is being reduced. The Government said it was going to “take back control” of the UK’s borders. What it has actually done is greatly increase the number of migrants to the UK every year since 2019 in order to keep wages down, and reduce inflation (see: https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/sn06077/). It has not been honest that it was doing this though – it has kept up a smoke screen of “stop the boats” blaming all the problems the country has with NHS waiting lists, housing shortages etc on a small number of people brought across the Channel by criminals in small boats. This is used as an excuse to make the UK join Russia and Belarus as the only other European countries not in the ECHR.

Water companies were privatised and we were promised the highest standards in the world. Companies borrowed money to pay shareholder dividends while hiking prices, and now there are huge amounts of sewage being discharged into the rivers and the sea, Thames Water is effectively bankrupt, and the most popular part of Devon for holidays has people taken ill because cattle manure has got into the water system. This is a threat to health and businesses that rely on tourism.

We need accountability of the ruling class restored, and proper democracy reinstated so that this country, the East Riding, and Goole work properly in the best interests of everyone, not just the ruling class and their chums.