John,
Do you know West Somerset?
This used to be a dyed-in-the-wool Tory area - the electorate habitually voted Tory for years regardless. Although actual Councillor numbers are small, it seems to me that a change in status from under a third (10/31) to over a half (16/31) merits what I posted.
The departing Tories (including several who had right arms but no voices) had squandered Council assets (selling off the major carpark of an area that relies very heavily on tourism - our population trebles in the summer) and in particular, after the election but before the handover, imposed a non-negotiable liability of many thousand pounds on the incoming Council. Other examples of Tory inspired financial waste were identified around that time too.
The old Council also roused the electorate to a 50% petition and 6 mile march in protest about their behaviour. Last year, in a survey of Forum members, 83% of responders (42% of total membership) wanted Party Politics taken out of local government.
If such an intensity of feeling were to be reflected across the country, one could find we do have the power to shake some sacred cows. Unfortunately, the inept laxity of those in a regulatory role has placed us in the position of having to repay the cost of baling out a very affluent sector of the economy for at least the next generation, so sadly we do need governance by a combination of level-headed individuals from ALL sources whilst dumping those whose skills are mostly exercised in redefining words to generate language that aids their spinning.
