27th November 2006

When Cllr Philip Booth was elected in May to Stroud District Council he started a 'Blog' - an online diary-come-newsletter. His Blog is aimed at letting local residents and others know what he is doing and give them a chance to leave comments or join in debates. He is one of only a handful of elected members blogging in Gloucestershire. Now over 200 entries later he finds himself listed at number 37 in the top 100 Green Bloggers.

Philip Booth, whose ward covers Randwick, Ruscombe and Whiteshill, said: "It is great to get 37th place particularly as this Blog is only 6 months old and is more about very local issues (i)."

Philip Booth said: "I'm hoping the Blog will play a small part in encouraging involvement in local politics. In my area we still don't have newsletters that reach everyone - the Parish Council's are working on that - but this Blog is one way to let people know what is going on locally and a space for them to respond and make comments about local issues."

Philip Booth said: "The Blog has covered a huge range of topics including the hopes and plans for a 20 mph zone in the ward, the latest sewage incidents in the brook, proposals to switch some street lighting off late at night, closure of Wyatt House, Randwick's Parish Plan, land banking in the Ruscombe valley, proposed footpath changes, local road closures, the Environment Green paper, policy panels and more. It also covers some issues raised by residents although I am very careful to ensure confidentiality - I don't use names or details unless specifically given permission."

Philip Booth added: "Not everyone has access to a computer so I still welcome people phoning to discuss issues. Call me on 01453 755451 or visit the Blog at <http://ruscombegreen.blogspot.com>"


Notes:

(i) To be included in the Green Bloggers list the blog must be focused on the environment or written by someone who is active in Green Politics. Ten areas were then looked at and the Blog judged out of ten in each of those categories. Jim Jepps <jimjepps@hotmail.com>, author of this list notes that; "I hope that this exercise in creating a hierarchical and subjective list of bloggers will contribute to creating a network or community of green and progressive bloggers and also help focus minds on how we can all improve the blogs we have."

To see the list go to: The Daily (Maybe) http://jimjay.blogspot.com