TAKE back control. That was the catchphrase that did the trick for Boris.
I wonder whether it would work the same magic for Salisbury?
Because what we don’t have here is control. Not a shred of it, or not when it matters.
The destiny of our city is almost totally in the hands of Wiltshire Council up at Trowbridge.
Schemes for ‘improvements’ are dreamed up at County Hall, or in cahoots with the business-led Swindon & Wiltshire Local Enterprise Partnership.
Any government dosh that comes our way tends to be doled out on preordained projects through these channels.
‘Consultations’ garner a pathetic number of responses. Many people aren’t even aware of them. If they don’t read the local paper, and aren’t among the handful of ‘usual suspects’ who sit through area board meetings, they are highly unlikely to scroll through Wiltshire Council’s notoriously impenetrable website on the off-chance that they might find something interesting there.
And then we’re lambasted as ‘ungrateful’ when we finally put our collective foot down, and everyone warns us that we won’t get offered any more sweeties if we don’t say thank you nicely.
Take the People Friendly Streets fiasco, for example. It needn’t have gone so wrong, if only anyone had taken the time to ask local people to help draw up a scheme in the first place.
Our parish council, grandiosely housed in the Guildhall, resplendent on ceremonial occasions in its red robes and civic regalia – a sad reminder of the glory days when the city managed its own business - gets what it’s given and seems unable to wean itself off its addiction to party politics.
Several of its members are ‘dual hatted’, i.e. they are Wiltshire councillors, too. How can that be right? There must inevitably be conflicts of interest.
It’s time all this nonsense came to an end.
It’s more than time that Salisbury regained some of its former powers as the heart of south Wiltshire.
But since we’re smugly assured by those who benefit from the present system that it won’t happen, what would be the next best thing, do you think?
An independent city council? Made up of members chosen for their ability, not their party allegiance? Free to think as they will, but united by an undertaking to work collaboratively on key issues to get the best possible deal for Salisbury from the unitary authority, regularly consulting residents and businesses and reflecting their opinions?
Pie in the sky? It doesn’t have to be.
Surely there must be a few public-spirited, free-thinking individuals out there who will stand for election in May and undertake to pool their talents for the greater good?
And a few voters willing to set aside their usual a) party loyalty or b) apathy to get them into office?
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