The Wardman Wire

Yesterday I posted about the Commons authorities banning Cub Scouts from protesting in the House of Commons – simply because they’re not old enough to vote. And I said

If John Bercow does not overturn this ban, he will have failed his first real test as Speaker. And he will have encouraged the demise of democracy in this country.

But Bercow must have read my post – because he has overturned this ban. The Cubs may not be able to vote now, but they will do in the future. If they have a message that they want to get across to their elected representatives – after all, MPs are still their representatives, even if they cannot directly vote them in. Yet.

Bercow has shown that he does have a backbone and that he believes in demicracy. By allowing this demonstration, he is encouraging young people in this country to be politically active.

But lets not forget the reason the Cubs want to protest in the Commons in the first place: the threat to Scout Groups through the massive increase – it could triple in many cases – in water costs due to Ofwats decision to allow (and force) water companies to charge not just for the amount of water used but also for surface water run-off.

This could cripples Scout Groups across the country, and force many to close down or increase their subscription chages – estimates of the increase sugest that it may cost groups up to a quarter of their annual budget just to pay their water bill. Hardly the best use that money could go to.