Closing ranks

There is evidence all over the place of people in organisations, especially large ones, closing ranks to protect themselves and their institutions whether they are in the wrong or not...MPs moved quickly to condemn those not just greedy but stupid fellow MPs recently caught on camera hiring out their services. The Catholic Church is attempting to defend the Pope from accusations of child abuse cover ups. Banks defend giving large bonuses. All big businesses have huge PR budgets and legal experts. Further examples are easy to find in places like Parliament and the NHS. I have personal experience of this kind of behaviour from: the NHS in Bristol; Bristol City Council; care homes; schools and colleges. I'm sure I'm far from alone in my experience - and in thinking that because of the way organisations protect themselves we only get to know the tip of the iceberg. So, I pledge that I will continue, whether elected or not, to do all I can to: expose and oppose all such behaviour: campaign for large organisations to be scaled to a more human level: spread power out within institutions and to all their users; maximise information availability and general transparency and accountability; and for organisations to go beyond token consultation, to maximise the opportunity for people to be empowered and fully participate.