We believe that councils work best and achieve better results when they engage with the communities that they represent. To be meaningful, this engagement must reach out to all residents and communities, regardless of background, not just those with the time and energy to make themselves heard. The summer of 2020 saw the Black Lives Matter movement’s expression of frustration in a number of protests and demonstrations. Wiltshire Council and Wiltshire Councillors have a responsibility to reach out and listen to views from all of our residents, including minority voices.

Wiltshire Labour is committed to making local government more open and inclusive, more ambitious and productive, and more innovative and forward looking. We believe that Wiltshire Council has a duty to play its part in bringing people together and creating a shared ambition for the future of Wiltshire.

Labour will:

• Make Council business more transparent and minimise the amount of decision-making conducted behind closed doors.

• Remove barriers to public participation in Council business.

• Build social impact as well as financial impact into all decision-making

• Improve the quality of public engagement and consultation, making it genuinely meaningful and inclusive.

• Trial the use of Citizens’ Assemblies to improve the engagement of residents in the democratic process.

• Encourage more participation in the democratic process, starting with school visits to promote better understanding of local democracy.