Episode 9- Liberating Local Politics with Peter MacFadyen

Dancing with Change

Most politics are currently dominated by political parties which are locked into conflict with each other. In this system, people don't turn up as individuals but as part of the party machine, in which they work together to wield power over other parties. Politicians aim to convince voters to give them the power to rule over them, but not to govern with them. Ideas are debated, but if there is no intention to listen and one side has all power to make decisions, then it is only for show. The goal isn't necessarily good governance, but to be seen to be "right", and to gain the control of majorities. This is a system in which power is centralised in as few hands as possible and is then used to exert their will over everybody else. It goes from the general population to a handful of politicians, to the majority party, and then the factions within that party.
But what could a different system look like, where dialogue dominates instead of debate, where citizens remain involved in the decision-making process, and where politicians work to have power with instead of power over people?
In this episode, I talk with the former mayor of Frome, Peter MacFadyen, about how we can take over our local politics and change the rules of the game. In the interview, we talk about the story of Frome and the group of independents that changed its politics, what it looks like in practice to listen to each other and the community, as well as the broader prospects of the movement.

Find out more about Peters's work
Flatpack democracy Website and Facebook page