At the local elections of May 2006 the turnout in Hounslow was 37.8 per cent. While people around the world risk their lives for the right to a free vote more than 6 in 10 people in Hounslow see no point in exercising this right. The reasons are not far to seek. We have all heard people who say "There's nothing you can do"; "It's all done with brown envelopes"; "It's all a done deal" and so on.

Like cynicism in general, the effect of these beliefs is a do-nothing approach. What is the point of acting for something you believe to be wrong if your actions can have no effect?

The following story is typical. A neighbour told me of a friend who had had planning permission refused (not in Hounslow) over a period of two years. Eventually, he claimed, he got a phone call saying that permission could be arranged in exchange for a sizeable bribe. He said that he paid the bribe and got his garage.

A more civic response would have been to pursue the offer just far enough to provide evidence to give to the police. This idea seemed not to have occurred to the man seeking permission to build his garage. Cynicism can, all too easily, become an ally of corruption.

While there are cases of corruption with council departments, as in other walks of life, there is no reason to question that, as elsewhere, the great majority of council officers are decent law-abiding people trying to do a decent job. This should be carefully distinguished from legitimate criticism of the way council departments work. It should be possible to make such criticism without automatically assuming that corruption is involved.

Even if there were grounds for suspecting corrupt practices, the best reaction would be to hold a magnifying glass to the process by getting involved rather than to walk away from it.

A residents' group in my neighbourhood is active over what we see as inappropriate proposals to develop the Campion House site in Thornbury Road, Isleworth. Our campaign has been running for 16 months. We have had many dealings with councillors, planners and the local press. We have also had to keep all our neighbours involved and informed. This has been hard work and has meant that several people have given up much of their free time over an extended period.

Democracy requires hard work. Local democracy works but making it do so can a demanding task. Democracy, local or national, is not created or maintained by "there is nothing you can do" cynicism. It isn't a panacea to all our problems. It is just the best way of running political life that anyone has been able to think of.

Our campaign is far from over but, to date, two applications from the developer have been rejected by Hounslow as harmful to the Spring Grove Conservation area.

Throughout our campaign we have tried to keep in direct contact with councillors from the different parties and groups on the planning committees. We have found members of all the groups very draft responsive. Despite their heavy schedule of meetings and other duties, members of all parties and groups have been prepared to meet us and discuss the issues. They have come to events we have organised and have offered useful advice.

One of the highlights of our campaign was the discussion of the first application to develop the Campion House site at the Isleworth and Brentford Area Committee. We had criticised the developer for producing a distorted three-dimensional representation of the proposed development.

Under questioning from councillors the developer's representative denied that there had been any distortion. As he spoke the picture in question was displayed. The forty or so residents from the Campion House area who had come to the meeting erupted into laughter.

This picture incident showed democracy in action. By attending the meeting residents were able to see how seriously councillors took their work. They had clearly studied the lengthy papers for the meeting. The Campion House development was one of 10 items on the agenda and the officers' report on that item alone ran to 73 pages with several more pages added as an addendum just before the meeting. Many residents were impressed with the obvious grasp of the fine detail of each application that the planning officer demonstrated.

Attending such meetings from time to time reduces cynicism about local councils and the way they work. By becoming active on issues of concern to us rather than giving up because "It's all a done deal" we had a reason to go to these meetings to see how those concerns are handled.

Persevere.

Of course, there are problems with local democracy. You may find that letters are ignored. You may be fobbed off by someone who is more interested in showing that you don't know what you are talking about than in listening to you. Despite all this we have found that perseverance pays off. In the case of the Campion House site the developer has appealed to the Government PlanningInspectorate in the hope that local wishes can be overruled. The Kew Bridge development shows that a good case can win through with the inspector.

Councillors who take their task seriously are incredibly busy people. If you want them to help you then you need to help them. Good councillors give up enormous amounts of their own time to council business but they can't be everywhere and they cannot carry out independent research on every issue.

They need your help. For our campaign we researched planning documents at every level (Hounslow, London, National) and we know that councillors have found this helpful. Local democracy works, but this only happens if those who expect something from it do their bit to make it work.