Community politics, representation and the limits of deliberative democracy

Community Politics has been a political strategy, of the Liberal Party, now the Liberal Democrats, since 1970. It involves a critique of traditional representational relationships and argues for a participatory democracy, based upon deliberation to build consensus out of competing interests. Whilst the associated campaigning techniques have made the third party, an important force in local government, this article uses new empirical evidence to assess the success of the strategy, in transforming representational relationships and extending popular participation in local government. It is argued that its success in respect of these objectives has been limited, principally, because of popular disenchantment with political parties and the inherent tensions and limitations that accompany popular participation in deliberative democratic structures.