[I noticed after my last post that I'd alliterated both titles - so that's that stopped now!]
It gets quite busy as a councillor when you get the weather we’ve seen over the past week; doubly so with my son off school for three days and needing entertaining and occupying! I was pretty impressed locally by how well people coped and just got on with what they could; in our road, people helped out those who had difficulty getting out and about for necessities, and there was a reasonable effort by many to clear pavements outside their properties as well as their private paths. And I know that the council staff, particularly the highways staff and the refuse collectors, worked themselves very hard to try to make sure roads were clear and rubbish not left uncollected longer than absolutely necessary.
Some people surprise, however. One particular resident phoned up with a fairly extensive litany of complaint. The county council should, apparently, have provided grit and sand to every road in Worthing (and, presumably, the rest of West Sussex). Now, far be it from me to defend a Tory council, but the council has to set priorities and work within a reasonable budget: I can recognise a plan that would be both unfeasible and ridiculously expensive, and that was it. Of course, it came from a Con, always the people who want every cost cutting except when it will affect them personally, when no expense should be spared.
The next amazing point was that priority should be given to side roads over main road, because ‘people live on the side roads.’ There’s no answer to that, and not in the good way.
Having just been out to get food for a neighbour, I suggested to the caller that perhaps a neighbour could help get them essentials if they couldn’t get out. Response? ‘You expect me to talk to my neighbours? People around here keep themselves to themselves.’ So much for the spirit of the Blitz.
Final point on snow: I heard the Tory spokeswoman on the radio, complaining that roads weren’t being gritted and/or cleared efficiently enough. Somehow, this was the government’s fault, even though it’s the councils who plan their salt stocks and running the snowploughs. And who runs the majority of those councils? That’s right, Conservatives. Now, as I said above, I think from what I’ve heard and seen that they did a decent job. And trying to score political points from such an indefensible position is, well, indefensible.
