By Press Release
What on earth is going on at County Hall? The common sense that broke out after the last local election – with the Alliance working with other parties to take charge – is long gone. With the council’s finances in a precarious state, perhaps for the common good some of them should park their egos and just make things work again?
Citing irreconcilable differences, a Tory started the group-leaving trend, which has caught on. We now have one group that wants to work with other parties, and a new one that doesn’t want people to represent the party they were elected for. Is this just infighting, disagreement on policy, or the absence of that longed-for Island Deal money? Maybe, they just got bored!
Can we now expect change at the top, is the council leader’s position secure, and who else would want that thankless task? Following national successes, are the Island LibDems planning a political comeback? Could they offer a serious alternative to Bob Seely next polling day? Can you see them ‘winning here’ again, as their irritating posters proclaim?
The last time this beautiful but deprived Island had a non-Tory MP, it was Peter Brand, a Lib Dem. If they select the right candidate, on past form, they might have a chance of doing it again. Almost no-one thinks Bob’s been a successful MP; far from it, there’s even a lot of disillusionment within the Island Tories.
The Westminster government too has let the membership down, and of course it was Rishi who originally moved against Boris. His carefully timed cabinet treachery led to Johnson losing the premiership. The members didn’t want him rewarded with the keys to Number 10, so they handed them to Liz Truss. And we all know how that went!
My Tory pals can’t believe that, after so long in office, we’re all paying the highest taxes ever. It’s very un-Conservative, as is their inability to get a grip of the NHS or any other Whitehall department. Immigration is a complete mess and rampant inflation punishes everyone too. Locally, it was the Tories who gifted us the PFI scandal. Just like their failed schools policy, what they said would happen was a complete fairy tale.
Immodestly, people like Mike Starke, the late great John Wortham and myself saw straight through the ruinous PFI scheme from the start. Ten years ago, we knew that David Pugh’s council was committing future administrations to unaffordable future payments. The PFI is based on 2½ per cent inflation, but with inflation at 12½ per cent, other vital services will need to be cut to meet those contractual obligations. We’ve already handed £252 million to Island Roads’ offshore owners, and we’ll have to find a lot more yet for years to come.
No council ever likes spending on highways; that’s why, nationally, there’s a £14 billion backlog! When they get money, they squander it on electronic signage, bizarre new road layouts or barely used cycle routes. The potholes that drive us all mad, damaging our backs, teeth and wheels, just keep growing like topsy.
In my road, we were lucky enough to get a thin skim of tarmac, but it was laid in the rain and the very next day the shoddy work broke up again. Further down the hill resembles a Swiss cheese – complete with holes. You can’t count the defects, although I suppose they do create a kind of accidental traffic calming scheme.
Pottering around the Island reminds me of the time I crossed the Kalahari, and I’ve always had a giant 4×4. I’m considering swapping this uncool Tonka toy for an actual tractor, because – hopefully – there’ll soon be a grant for that.
