It won’t be long now before voters in the London Borough of Hounslow will be called upon to elect a new council, at the local elections on May 22nd.

Quite to what extent the new council will resemble the old council is a matter for conjecture. There will be all sorts of factors coming into play, and it will be a brave person who ventures to predict the outcome in each of the twenty wards that make up the borough.

Hounslow, of course, is far from unique. The whole of London will be similarly engaged. But in one particular ward, in one particular borough, the local election will take on a quite different form.

Following on from a successful petition by local residents, culminating in a referendum in which the petitioners emerged victorious, the good folk of Queen’s Park under Westminster City Council will be electing their own parish, or community council.

Parish councils, as we know, are by no means a new concept. But due to a recent change in legislation it is now possible for communities anywhere, even in the capital city, to set a process in motion under which certain limited powers can be devolved down to manageable units of a size which will make it possible for small, organised communities to challenge the big political power blocs on something approaching a level playing field. When that happens, in my experience, the communities usually win.

Although there is nothing to stop the big parties from attempting to add parishes to their bland power portfolios, these councils boast a disproportionate number of independents by comparison with borough councils. People from every conceivable background and every walk of life who aspire to serve their communities in office rather than their office in their communities.

The powers they actually have may be few, but once voters are able to witness this vision taking form the road to a more democratic and more inclusive system across the board becomes clearer.