Now that central government has announced the consultation
over the future of local government in Somerset it is clear that the battle
lies are drawn. For the sake of transparency, I admit to being a long-standing
local Conservative councillor, both at county and district level. However, I am
no stooge or stool pigeon.
To put not too fine a point on it, the extent to which both
those promoting the Stronger Somerset case, and the proponents of the One
Somerset case, are keen for us, the electorate, to take sides is not without
precedent, but will do more harm than good.
What is clear to me is that we cannot, and should not,
continue as we are.
To be honest, I am sick to death of the self-serving,
sanctimonious expostulations. This is largely born out of fear on the part of
those who may find themselves without a job, and who wish to do all that they
can to protect their positions. Unwittingly we, the taxpayers who foot the
bill, find ourselves caught up in their power game.
Steering our way through the minefield of hyperbole and
rhetoric requires stamina for which, unsurprisingly, the man on the street has
seemingly little appetite. What we need is clear unambiguous information; facts
based on evidence.
What still fails to be made clear is that after May
2022 neither authority will exist, in their demise taking
along with them all of the malfunctions and disappointments of service
provision as we have experienced it, whether this be in relation to social
services, education, housing, health care, or filling pot-holes. There is no
one area in which either side can proclaim total success, such is nature of
local government and human nature.
What will happen is that we shall all be
able to select those who we feel best represent us and are most likely to
deliver the services which matter most to us; for each of us this will be
different. Taking a one-size-fits-all approach may be the most cost effective,
but money saving is not necessarily the answer. We are a diverse community with
differing priorities.
If I choose to stand for election again all I can offer is the knowledge, experience and skills I have gained over the last 18 years, and my increasingly diminishing ability to navigate the needless bureaucracy, where instead of accessing a website and completing an online form, or pressing button 1, 2 or 3, all people want is to speak to a real live person who is available morning, noon and night, and who will listen to their concerns and attempt to find a solution. I do not always succeed, but no-one can say that at least I did not try.
Cllr. Linda Vijeh
Combe St. Nicholas
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