Hobson's choice for local voters

IT was Henry Ford, that pioneer of motoring for the masses, who stated back in 1909 that purchasers of the Model T could have “any colour they like as long it’s black”.

In one respect, it seems, consumer choice hasn’t moved on in the intervening 104 years.

Across large swathes of South Wiltshire, voters can have any colour they like next month as long as it’s blue.

Residents of Tidworth, Winterslow, Netheravon, Fovant or the Chalke Valley needn’t bother trekking down to the polling booth because the only Wiltshire Council candidates standing in these areas are Conservatives.

Carlton Brand, the council's chief returning officer, told the BBC sadly that this state of affairs was "not democratic" and disenfranchising.

Oh, really? What a surprise!

The other parties in these electoral divisions have sensibly decided the result is a foregone conclusion. They won’t get in, so what’s the point in persuading some doomed unfortunate to invest time and effort in putting up a token fight?

I suspect that’s the way it’ll stay while our present ‘first past the post’ system continues.

I’ve looked at the results from last time round, and found that in some of the areas listed above, almost 50 per cent of voters backed candidates who weren’t Tories.

They, too, are probably now thinking “Why bother?”

I’m not making a party political point here. My personal view is that there should be no place for party politics in local government.

But I do wonder why we expect people to believe that they live in a democracy where their voice counts, when they can go through a whole lifetime of dutiful voting without managing to elect a councillor or Member of Parliament who represents their views.

I’m only surprised there aren’t more divisions with only one person standing.

A nice warm covered market? Yes, please

I WAS intrigued by the proposal drawn up by a trio of local architects for a covered market, with budget hotel rooms overhead, on the site of the bus station.

It’s the kind of imaginative thinking that could give Salisbury a new lease of life.

Which probably means it’s doomed, and we’ll get another block of ‘sympathetically designed’ flats.

I don’t know whether or not the current market traders would welcome an opportunity to move to a cosy, all-weather home.

I realise that some of them have invested a lot of money to be where they are right now.

As an occasional customer, however, I know I’m less likely to buy my veg in the Market Place when it’s freezing and the wind is whipping round my ankles – ie most of the time.

Which is why I’ve always had reservations about a great deal of public money being invested in the whole ‘café culture’ makeover scheme. Lovely when the sun shines – but how often is that?

Anyway, even if our regular stallholders aren’t interested, a covered market could include spaces to rent to all manner of craftspeople and creative start-up businesses that can’t afford our shops.

Just look at the way the excellent Vintage Quarter is attracting a new breed of customer to Wilton shopping village.

I dropped in to the Easter Monday vintage fair there, and the place was buzzing despite the cold.

The girl in the tearoom (lovely carrot cake, by the way) said they’d prepared for a busy day and still been run off their feet. They’d had ten coachloads of visitors, and the car park was packed.

In my opinion, the shopping village was looking a little jaded and old-fashioned a few months ago, and I wouldn’t have chosen to shop there.

But broadening the mix with vintage and Art Deco has certainly made it a happy hunting ground for me.

Which just leaves one question.

If our shivering stallholders did fancy a move indoors, what would happen to the super whizz-bang new-look Market Place then?

Disabled parking, anyone?