The real people's assembly at St Paul's London

The Occupy movement is spreading to Finsbury and now Hackney.

Thanks to UBS investment in empty buildings, they have shown how
the generosity of greedy bankers leaves lots for the rest of us
benefit from. Their emptiness is the opening of the Bank of Ideas.

This is as close to a vox pop that there is. It is aiming at
the great evils of life
Bankers
City of London Corporation
Deaf, corrupt politicians

Their work bests any official parliamentary assembly:
1 the corp dares to join the debat-
• An extraordinary event took place outside St Paul's on Sunday evening. The Reclaim the City campaign group had arranged for George Monbiot, John Christensen and Fr William Taylor to explain to the Occupation their concerns with the City of London Corporation.

Unexpectedly Stuart Fraser, the policy chairman of the corporation, turned up to debate with us. What was remarkable was how easily Fraser conceded defeat on so many points. In an effort to claim the corporation was a modern, democratic institution – in response to George Monbiot's article (Comment, 1 November) – Fraser said anyone was able to become an alderman. Taylor, a former corporation councillor, pointed out that this was wrong on three counts: you need a liveryman or common councillor/alderman to propose and second you (then you need to pay £30); to be an alderman, you have to be accepted as a justice of the peace; as an alderman you are expected to take your turn as lord mayor, for which you must have around £30,000 of your own money to throw a lord mayor's banquet.

So, if you are poor and/or not well connected, you cannot become an alderman. Fraser conceded all these points. While mainstream politicians are well used to ducking and dodging questions, one got the feeling that councillors in the corporation have not been subject to the regular challenges necessary to hone such skills.
And while Fraser said in his Response column (4 November) that "talk of the City of London being 'an official old boys' network' is wide of the mark", when challenged in a public forum it was clear there are ample grounds for using that label.

Much of the media struggles to see the point of the Occupation. But it felt to many of us freely debating outside St Paul's on Sunday that we were starting to see what real democracy might look like.
Philip Goff
University of Liverpool

2 rebuttal to the Corp
• Stuart Fraser's claim that the City of London Corporation recognises the democratic rights of the 300,000 people who work in the City by giving the vote to their employers is completely absurd (Response, 4 November).
So too is his claim about the "huge diversity" of experience within the corporation's governing council. Most of its members belong to secret societies – the freemasons and the livery companies. Membership of these societies is not open to all, and in the case of the former women are not admitted.
Although the corporation is the smallest local authority in Britain, its public relations department is the largest. Its charitable contributions amount to petty cash when measured against the corporation's vast resources, which have remained concealed to public scrutiny since before the days when witches were burnt at the stake.
Nigel Wilkins
London
Occupy London protesters issue demands to lord mayor

3 the media tries to make people go back to sleep
"oh, yes the Corp will listen to the protesters and we can all go home" NOT!

St Paul's protesters may move soon if demands for more transparency to City of London Corporation are met
* Allegra Stratton, political correspondent
* guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 8 November 2011 20.06 GMT
Occupy London protesters outside St Paul's have put demands to the City of London Corporation which, if accepted, may prompt them to leave the cathedral area. The camp already planned to move further back on Friday to avoid impeding Remembrance Sunday commemorations, but now conceivably might leave entirely at the weekend.
David Cameron defended the right to protest, but questioned the camp's effectiveness: "Obviously, the right of people to protest is fundamental to our country. The idea of establishing tents in the middle of our city, I don't feel is particularly constructive. I don't think it's particularly constructive in Parliament Square, and I don't think it's particularly constructive at St Paul's."
The document from Occupy London's general assembly is the first set of agreed demands, and raises the renewed possibility of negotiation with the corporation, after previous talks broke down. Bryn Phillips, who helped draw up the demands, said he was meeting the lord mayor to hand over the group's demands, which he regarded as a significant advance.

On Monday night protesters voted for demands that, if they were to be accepted, would open the corporation, the local authority for the area housing the UK's financial centre, to more scrutiny. Those present said that 200 people voted for the document asking the corporation to open itself to freedom of information requests, publish its accounts retrospectively to 2008, and reveal its financial involvements. A third proposal is for a commission, with representatives of the main Westminster parties, to look at reforming the corporation, with the archbishop of Canterbury suggested to chair it.

The Occupy statement says democratic reform is "urgently needed" for an "unconstitutional and unfair" institution. It calls for:

• An end to business and corporate votes in elections, which can outvote residents.

• Removal of "secrecy practices", and transparent reform of institutions.

• Decommissioning of the City of London police, with officers put under the Met.

• Abolition of the offices of lord mayor, sheriffs and aldermen.

• A truth and reconciliation commission to examine allegations of corruption.

Phillips said: "We think that the public will look at our request and think it reasonable. The City just forgot the public."
The prime minister is expected on Thursday to respond to accusations from protesters and Labour that the government does little to help the "other 99%". Cameron is keen to wrest from Ed Miliband use of the soundbite "predator capitalism", which polls well in focus groups and chimes with Cameron speeches in opposition on "ethical capitalism".