Council Issues

By the end of this week, we will have heard about the latest attempts by the Chancellor to put the economy right. Our Liberal Democrats' residents surveys indicate that the economy and jobs, together with the NHS and climate change are the three top national priorities, irrespective on how you vote. These three are closely related. Whether the government can manage the three to the benefit all is open to question. The Conservatives have lost all semblance of economic competence. In short. they have introduced their own ideological version of Corbynism.

On local councils, the only area where residents voted performance as good was bin collections. Well done the bin people! Some complained of the limited recycling compared to other councils, including Tory ones in Hampshire, but Tory TVBC has assured us all that in umpteen years, when the law will force them, they will follow suit.

What was universally graded as poor were road repairs including pavements as well as parking and crime. The state of the roads and in particular potholes is a permanent blight on Andover. What is also telling is a concern over parking or lack of it. This often translates into parking on pavements and the lack of access for emergency vehicles or bin collections.

These are all results of political decisions. Conservative political decisions. All very well to have very low council taxes but what if the result is your car tyres have to be replaced more regularly or you have to rely on charities or your own wallet for services that were free. TVBC is also allowing developers a degree of latitude which makes me uncomfortable. At national level we have seen the massive political donations given to the Conservative party by developers. A bit like how unions fund Labour. Demand Better, Going Greener should be a motto for us all.