What a week!!!

Who ever described politics as boring and irrelevant can never have lived through a week like the last one, we've had the long awaited Comprehensive Spending Review, followed by all the analysis a predictions of either a golden future or death and disaster depending on which side of the political divide you stand. We also had a local by-election in Ashwick, Chilcompton and Stratton ward, which the Conservatives in the form of Steven Priscott held on to, albeit by a narrow margin, but all the more remarkable when the backdrop of short term difficulties at a national level, and the incessant negative campaigning at a local level is taken into account.

The Lib Dems were cock-a-hoop at the thought of a sure fire by-election win, so much so they drafted in the entire team from all over the county, for the mandatory photo opportunity as soon as the count was declared, only to go home with their tails firmly between their legs when their hopes were decisively dashed.

Then as if that wasn't enough our new Lib Dem councillor in Shepton Mallet, who has for some reason decided that he must personally assasinate the characters of every hard working Conservative in the district, was castigated by the Standards Committee at Mendip District Council for being "unpleasant, distasteful and un-professional". I think the electorate of Shepton Mallet deserve a councillor who represents all of the community, whether they voted for him or not, and should not have to tolerate this un-professional conduct that brings the office of District Councillor into disrepute.

I have no problem with robust political discussion and differences of opinion, I make my views known and obviously realsie that not everyone will be in total agreement with me. There is absolutely no need for those differences to degenerate into personal campaigns, full of lies, half truths and innuendo and I challange our new councillor to respond to this positively, lets hear his views, perhaps he has an idea that may be of benefit to the town, so far all we have heard from him is that he is against everything, whether it be Tesco, Car Parks, allotments, the Town Council, Mendip Council, the Conservatives et al, not one positive message has been promulgated.

The main story of the week was surely the Comprehensive Spending Review, Chancellor George Osborne laid out his plan to get the country back on its feet after the years of excessive spending by the last Labour government. You would have thought that we are heading back to the stone age if you listen to the Labour sympathisers on the TV and in the Guardian, where in fact we are merely returning to the levels of public spending that last occurred on 2007!! Such was Labour's profligacy, they created very nearly 200,000 extra public service posts, to further increase the country's debt, AFTER the recession started, and spending started to spiral out of control.

It is obviously regrettable that half a million public sector jobs will be lost over the next 4 years, but as a country we can't afford the current levels of spending, and if the chancellor has got his sums right, the private sector will expand over the next 4 years to more than compensate for the public sector jobs that will be lost.

At a local level we now know that the government grant to local councils will be cut by 7.1% per year for 4 years. There will be extra money for those councils who budget for 0% council tax increases, and there will also be extra flexibility as to how councils are allowed to spend the grant that they get, but at the end of the day councils will have to change the way they provide services, and will also have to stop providing some of the services they currently provide, councillors and officers at Mendip have been working on plans for the future for several months, the final shape of those plans will be announced in the next few weeks.

I'm now off for a lie down in a darkened room before investgating a controversial planning application later on today and in preparation for another busy week of Cabinet meetings and Parish Forum on Monday, Central Mendip Community Partenership on Tuesday, Community Development Working Party Wednesday, and training on Thursday.

So politics is politics boring and irrelevent?

You have got to be kidding!!!