Reduce the number of signatories required on a petition to 500
Please reduce the number of signatories required on a petition
to 500. It feels like the high number of 1500 signatures required
for a petition to be debated at a meeting of RBWM's full Council (a
meeting of all 41 councillors) represents a barrier to democracy in
the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead.
The requirement for 1500 signatures is often more even than the
number of votes an individual councillor receives to be elected on
election day.
Only well organised petition campaigns are able to get enough
signatures for a debate at a full Council meeting, this impacts the
poorest and smallest areas in the Unitary Authority of RBWM.
NB. (petitions of a lower number of signatories are considered by
the Council in other ways, eg at an alternative meeting such as
Cabinet or by discussions between the lead petitioner and relevant
officers/Lead Members - but not at a full Council)
Started by: Jonathan Grant
This ePetition ran from 27/08/2020 to 04/03/2021 and has now finished.
16 people signed this ePetition.
Council response
Petition update from the council, 01 September 2020, while petition was still open Please note that at present, petitions require 1500 signatures to be debated at a full Council meeting; petitions of a lower number of signatories are considered by the Council but in other ways, including debate at an alternative meeting such as Cabinet or by discussions between the lead petitioner and relevant officers/Lead Members.