Greater participation by people in the local political process is vital for a healthy democracy, and is the key theme of Votes and Voices, a collection of nine essays published by NCVO and the LGA.  

Votes and Voices; the complementary nature of representative and participative democracy, brings together a range of views on local democracy from across local government, the voluntary sector and academia, to strengthen the way the sectors work together. 

The main themes in Votes and Voices assert:
* both representative and participative processes are essential to a healthy democracy.
* local authorities and voluntary and community sector organisations have different but complementary roles to play in this.
* local government and voluntary sector organisations need to be at the forefront of discussions about how local democracy works in practice and how democratic activity might be improved in the future. 

The publication follows the release of Communities in Control, the government’s Empowerment White Paper.