Film-maker puts the council in focus

A WARRINGTON amateur film-maker has taken on a big job in his retirement – videoing meetings of the borough council.
So far, he has filmed five meetings and published them on the internet.
They can be seen by going to YouTube and searching for “Warrington Borough Council Meetings.”
Granddad Richard Buttrey, from Stockton Heath, decided when he retired from full-time work that he should start taking a bit more interest in local government.
He said: “I remember the Tory minister Francis Pymm warning during the 1983 election campaign that large majorities don’t on the whole produce successful government.
“He was sacked for saying that but I believe he was entirely right. I’ve thought for a while that it’s not good for democracy that Labour control the whole of the Warrington Council executive and all but a handful of seats across the borough.”
Mr Buttrey attended his first full council meeting in December 2013 – the meeting when police were called to evict a councillor
He says he was “astounded” by what he saw and heard.
“It was not a pretty spectacle and arguable a waste of police time,” he said.
In August, the government passed legislation to allow the public to video record council meetings and Mr Buttrey approached the council to discuss arrangements for him to video.
“The democratic services department were extremely helpful,” he said.
He also had talks with the University of Chester to see if council meeting videos could be built into their media courses.
The university was keen to be involved and suggested it would be an opportunity for a student to move on to an apprenticeship with the council to video meetings and undertake other council media requirements.
But when Mr Buttrey tabled a question at a council meeting, council leader Cllr Terry O’Neill said he would rather see any available funding put into front line services.
Mr Buttrey admits he is a “complete amateur” when it comes to videoing.
He would like to assemble a small group of people who could share the load of video recording a larger number of meetings than one person could undertake.
He said: “My long term hope is that the mere fact that videos are publicly available might improve the standard of debate and decision taking. I also think that if the public realised the rubber stamping that goes on at executive meetings which are entirely controlled by one party, it might just make some of them ask themselves the self-same question Francis Pymm asked all those years ago.”
Mr Buttrey has so far taken his camera to five meetings. His films can be seen at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5LUJ3QwZSYbNVPiGzE999A