Why aren't our councillors standing up for Salisbury?

IT’S all too easy to blame Wiltshire Council leader Jane Scott and her cabinet from across the Plain for the plight of Salisbury’s retailers.

It’s true that she was in charge of the iniquitous rise in parking charges which drove motorists away and has ended up costing her own council money.

It’s also true that she’s refused to rule out raising them further, which is hardly what I’d call a conciliatory attitude in the face of so much hostility from the paying public.

Having observed her in action at many a council meeting, I’d hardly expect her to back down in the midst of the current bout of bad publicity.

Maybe once it’s died down a bit she’ll go away and have a quiet rethink.  We have to hope so, though I’m not holding my breath.

But in the meantime what about the Conservative backbenchers who represent Salisbury and South Wiltshire divisions on her council?

I haven’t heard a peep out of any of them since I reported the council’s own figures showing what a counter-productive policy this has been.

Why aren’t they standing up for us and declaring publicly that it’s time she changed her mind? Any of them care to comment?

Meanwhile, another week, and more shop closures.

I’ve got no problem with charity shops. I love them, and check them out frequently for bargains.

They seem to be thriving, as there are always plenty of people flicking through the clothes rails and poring over the bookshelves.

We’ve even got a British Heart Foundation furniture shop now, as befits our Heart City status, and jolly popular it is, too.

But it’s getting to the point where charities, along with cafes and hairdressers – how many haircuts can people possibly need, I wonder? -  must soon outnumber our embattled independent retailers.

I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry when I read that Cllr Scott was blaming the recession, the internet and out-of-town shopping centres.

I’d like to echo Tony Blair’s 1997 election anthem (not that I supported him) and say that things can only get better.

But with this lot at the helm, I fear they could get a whole lot worse.