DESPERATE TIMES, DESPERATE MEASURES

Desperate times call for desperate measures. Locally this has never been more true than at the moment, as the debate over the future of local government reaches boiling point.

Whether I like it or not, and I do not, as a locally elected district and county councillor, with the Conservative banner over my head (not always a good thing), I am by default a politician.

Amid accusations of the Secretary of State indulging in bully-boy tactics, the general feeling amongst the local population, if my inbox is anything to go by, is that our elected members should get off their soap boxes and get on with the day job of representing the people who put them there, and those who did not.

What politicians at both local and national level seem to find it difficult to comprehend is just how destructive negative comments are, often having the opposite effect in relation to their intended target. This is especially true for those who choose to post their views on social media sites.

I have been reminded recently that, yes, we do all have a right to freedom of speech but it is so easy to submit a sarcastic throw away one-liner at the touch of a button. This does no-one any favours, least of all those who are guilty of putting such comments in the public domain.

Constructive criticism and challenge are healthy, but I believe that unless it is made clear that statements and observations are merely someone’s opinion then remarks claiming to be true should be backed up by factual evidence.

In recent weeks there has been considerable furore over our future, and whether or not we should leave things as they are at present. This has been deemed by all sides to be a poor option. It is clear that our local government in its present form leaves much to be desired.

This leaves us with the two options submitted to the Secretary of State – Stronger Somerset (an East/West split of the county and some services separated), or One Somerset, where all services will be under one umbrella.

With both sides at odds the battle lines are drawn. Both maintain that this exercise in local government transformation is not about cost-cutting or savings, yet they throw brickbats at each other over the accuracy of the stated figures. I have my own very strong views on this. For what it is worth, I believe we need to decide what level of service we want to provide, and then pay for it. For every pound saved in service provision there can be a knock-on effect if this results in a failure to support our communities; for example, keeping our roads in good repair, ensuring high educational standards, access to health provision, or granting permission for the right kind of housing in the right location.

What we need to do, as residents and electors, is to keep an open mind, be willing to review our opinions, ignore the rhetoric and, most importantly, ask the right questions to hold our leaders to account.

Words come cheap but the cost making the wrong decision for our county will haunt us for a long time.