Community Unionising
At Tarka Accord accord, we believe that organisation is the most effective way to achieve positive change for communities. Community unions have the power to break through polarising national narratives with a long-overdue focus on policy rather than rhetoric. Community unions have the power to bring systems of local government under the control of local people through collective action. Community unions have the power to start providing services and aid from the direct will of the public when local or national government fails to do so. Although the specifics of how government systems operate are important to democratic reformation, public engagement is what drives the reformation forward and keep it within authority of the public.
An Accessible Democracy
In order to insure that a community union actually represents the people that it claims to, it must be politically accessible to all members of the community no matter their position in the community nor their national political party affiliation. Opinions of all stripes should be considered valuable as researched and informed opinions can be useful in drafting policy and uninformed opinions can still have use on an anecdotal level when reviewed on mass. All well meaning, passionate and community-driven people deserve to have an accessible way to engage in local politics without committing their lives to the stress of holding official positions of local government.
With all of this acknowledged, Tarka Accord has created a forum for local political involvement and also implores anyone who would considers themselves committed to civil contributions to contact Tarka Accord directly. For more info on the forum, click: here. For contact details, click: here.
Our Current Target
As mentioned on the UK homepage, we believe that North Devon is laying the foundations for a poorly designed city. Rents and business rates are too high, the road system is inadequate for the volume of traffic, new builds are being put up with seemingly no consideration for shops and infrastructure, etc. And so, alongside the mission to foster an improved local democracy, our current target to tackle is this poor urban design. As suggestions that Tarka Accord would pose for improving the issues mentioned:
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The creation of an urban authority in the Taw/Torridge Area across North Devon District Council, Torridge District Council and Devon County Council with the sole purpose of implementing better urban design.
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The construction of a miles long bus lane built from Bideford to Barnstaple to improve public transport speeds and - therefore - insensitivise public transport usage, reducing road traffic in the process. For more on the benefits of public transport on congestion, click: here.
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Bringing a strict design initiative to new builds to force the inclusion of low-rent accommodation, the consideration of public transport links, well-designed public spaces, affordable locations for small businesses and other measures that turn new construction from a profit farm for developers to a service for the public good for years to come.​
Political Influence
In order to make any meaningful change to improve democracy and governance, political influence is essential. After the manifestation of a strong community union and the broad support from the public for policies - there are two options for obtaining this influence.
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If accepted by the formal democracy, Tarka Accord can act as an advisory board for the local councils and have the policy demands of Tarka Accord put into place indirectly through them.
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If ignored by the formal democracy, Tarka Accord can seek to replace it in elections in order to directly apply the democratic will of the public.
It must also be considered that: the larger the public appeal of Tarka Accord becomes, the more likely that either option is to succeed - both through being a more representative voice of the public and by being a more significant political threat to those in power.
Specifically to those in places of political power: please note that this push for political influence is not inherently a threat against those who already have power. Tarka Accord is pushing for an improved democracy, not simply to oust others from power – so we would be willing to work with those in government and vying for government positions in order to press forth democratic reforms. However, if groups decide to work against the will of the public through Tarka Accord, then they will be pushed aside to the best of our ability.