What a week!
With the exception of a Conservative Group meeting there has been little happening at Babergh. The Group considered the prioritisation of capital projects in the light of anticipated Local Government Reorganisation, a question which is to be discussed at next week’s Strategy Meeting . There is a discussion paper for the Strategy Committee on the Babergh website for anyone who is interested. The link is clearly marked on the Home Page.
This paper, significantly, recommends that decisions about parking in Sudbury and Hadleigh, and on the sale of the council housing stock, are deferred until the new authority is in place. If this is agreed by the Committee the issue of car parking charges will be kicked into touch for the next two to three years at least, which can’t be bad for car drivers of Waldingfield Ward (Don’t forget you read it first on Jenny’s Blog!).
Interesting as all of this is, it has to be said that what has been interesting me has been taking place out in the real world this week, which, depending on what happens in the future, may go down in history as the ‘week of futile gestures’.
Firstly there was David Davis’s bid on behalf of civil liberties and freedom. My short experience of political life does mean that I can sympathise with his frustrations. Being unable to get one’s own ideas through the thickets of policy and politics, not to mention civil servants and council officers, eventually can lead to the build up of a head of steam that makes any action, however irrational, feel better than doing nothing. My own experience might suggest that this sort of action can ultimately become a futile gesture, and one ends up calling on St Jude (pictured above), who as I am sure you all know is the patron saint of lost or desperate causes.
Secondly there was yesterday’s vote by the Irish to say NO to the Lisbon Treaty. At the time of writing the cloth eared Governments of larger European States (including our own of course) are, disgracefully, stating their intentions of carrying on regardless of the vote. It is vital that Ireland’s clear vote should not become another futile gesture, and I hope that all those who believe in democracy in Europe will stand up and make sure that their voice is heard.
After all, it should be remembered that St. Jude is pretty big in Ireland!
