Trudi Davies The Politics Show South East

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David Miliband: 'power to the people' thesis

A group from Eastbourne show that far from the country being in the grip of political apathy we are in fact more involved in local politics than ever.

It is just that, these days, we are more likely to be organising ourselves than relying on party political allegiances.

And do you enjoy a stroll through the woods?

Well the Woodland Trust suggest that you make the most of it before it is too late as ancient woodland in the South East falls prey to the developers.

Power to the people

David Miliband's legacy to the Local Government debate is his "power to the people" thesis.

After months of visits around the country his diagnosis of Government at a local level was:

".. that there is a degree of powerlessness, and that it's profound, and it's important that we come to grips with it."

But at a local level people are not apathetic about politics, it is just that they would often rather organise themselves into campaigns and pressure groups instead of relying on elected representatives.

So what makes a good campaign? How do you get going, get yourselves noticed and gain publicity in the local media?

What makes Councillors and MPs take notice of your concerns?

One the programme today we launch the first of our Campaign Specials and in the studio we have a number of people more than qualified to answer those questions.

and Anno Mitchell from the BBC's Action Network will debate the issues and offer advice.

The Sovereign Harbour Resident's Association from Eastbourne are the campaign group whose fortunes we analyse in this first show.

Need some help with a campaign? Want to offer advice? Or do you have a question for one of our guests?

Text: 07786 209252 and we will try to include it on the show on Sunday.

For more information about campaigns in your area and help with setting one up then follow the link below to the BBC Action Network Site.

Axed

About 3% of the UK is made up of ancient woodland, still a large area but, many of the sites are tiny and scattered across the country.

It is their size and distribution that makes them particularly vulnerable to being chipped away by house building, road widening and service provision.

The South East is particularly at risk given the pressure to develop and accommodate an ever growing population.

In 2005 the Department of Communities and Local Government went some way to protecting this ancient heritage in a paper entitled PPS9 Biodiversity and Geological Conservation.

This is the snappy title for a paper that outlines the responsibilities of local planning departments but it contains a get out clause which means that irresponsible local authorities can still build on ancient woodlands if the benefits outweigh the impacts.

Needless to say the Trust are just one group calling on the Government to tighten up the guidelines to ensure that the remaining woodlands are protected absolutely from development.

Join presenter Paul Siegert and Ed Pomfrett of The Woodland Trust, as they take a stroll through one of the endangered woods and ask whether the Government are doing enough.

Should we be doing more to protect our ancient woodland sites?

Text: 07786 209252 and let us know your views.

For more information about woodland under threat in your area or to report threatened sites click on the link below to The Woodland Trust.

Join in

Do you have a strong opinion about something? Education, fox hunting, or chewing gum on the streets?

If there is an idea or a point of view that you are dying to share then here's your chance.

Rant of the Week gives you 60 seconds to share your opinions with our viewers. Or do you have an idea for a story or issue that we should be covering?

How to take part in the programme

To rant or to suggest stories that we should cover you can send us an email on the link below with your contact details and the subject that you would like to talk about and one of our producers will be in touch.

To get your views on the programme:

Text us on 07786 209252 or Email us via the link below

The Politics Show South East

Join Paul Siegert on the Politics Show on Sunday 21 May 2006 at 12.00pm on BBC One.

Disclaimer: The BBC may edit your comments and cannot guarantee that all emails will be published.