“DON’T let the coalition crush Democracy Village” writes Alison Banville in The Staggers blog today.

what might our politicians find so threatening about Democracy Village? Let me see… perhaps the fact that they are prominently protesting against the war in Afghanistan (which all the main parties support) and are vowing not to leave until the troops are brought home? Let’s not forget that anyone opposed to the war was not represented by any of the three main parties during the election, and that a recent poll revealed 77% of the British public want the troops brought home.

“What might our politicians find so threatening?” I promise you we don’t find it remotely threatening. We do find it irritating, however, that such a noisy eyesore in the centre of our nation’s capital has been allowed to remain and to grow.

Who, then, is more aligned with democracy? The politicians in Parliament – or the protesters outside its hallowed walls?

The politicians in Parliament, since you ask.

Here we go again. During the Iraq war I was visited in my constituency office by a small group of constituents opposed to the war, whose spokewoman, I discovered, was not a constituent. “But I represent your constituents,” she protested when I told her she would have to leave the meeting and instead lobby her own MP. “No,” I replied. “I represent my constituents.”

How dare elected representatives have views that are contrary to those who occupy the most pompously-named site in the country. After all, what do mere MPs know of the real world? What do they know about democracy? Apart from just having been elected after fighting a long general election campaign, of course. But apart from that, what do MPs know about democracy?

Democracy surely isn’t about standing for election, setting out your beliefs, campaigning and persuading electors, doing your best to put your views into practice in legislation once you’ve reached those green benches. No, no, no…

Real democracy, pure, radical democracy is (according to The Staggers) about being elected by no-one, representing no-one.

What arrogance must motivate you to believe that you have the right to monopolise an area to which other citizens should have free access; to protest, yes, but to enjoy also, to take a stroll in, to have a quiet sit down. And what arrogance must motivate someone to believe that their compulsion to shriek incomprehensibly (and to absolutely no effect whatsoever) through a megaphone is more important than the comfort of others who might prefer not to be harangued aggressively as they pass by.

Such encampments would be dealt with swiftly by the authorities – and with overwhelming support from the public – were they to be inflicted on any other part of the country. That this eyesore still afflicts Parliament Square, that it has been allowed to grow and spread like a malignant infection, is a testament to the failure of politicians who should have acted decisively long before now.

Of course we should – and do – respect the right to protest. But though it might sound bizarrely counter-intuitive to say so, the democratic credentials of elected representatives must be respected also. Just because you’re elected does not mean you represent no-one, and just because you’re unelected and self-appointed does not mean you’re representative of a wider community.

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