Cllr. Gavin Ayling

I have been quiet lately and that is for several reasons:

1. David Cameron’s foray into politics has done to the Conservatives what Blair did for Labour. That is to say that they may be more electable according to the media, but he is also betraying his core beliefs and principles and not attempting to convince people of the underlying truth of his beliefs. I hope that he doesn’t go so far as has Labour in abandoning completely the principle on which the party was built.

For all the bad things Labour’s done since 1997, it is nowhere near its principles and so, to its credit, no-one can really stand up and say “Look how awful things are”. Things just aren’t as good as they should be… Tax is too high, freedoms have been eroded a little etc.

This is not to say I believe what I said in the last paragraph. Just that it is difficult to convince people otherwise when things are so stable and not terrible.

2. Of late, as I may have said before, I have been challenging my own beliefs and I have found them wanting in some areas. No politician would normally admit that so I hope you understand that it is a difficult thing for me to say.

3. Adur Council is very well run; most of what is wrong with Adur is out of Adur Council’s hands — with the inept (although officially perfect, County), or more seriously with the government of Britain.

I have said on these webpages in the past that I blame the British government and the lack of democracy for a lot of the country’s problems, but that is not the whole problem. Mostly it is the selfish complacency of the electorate. People are aggressive to their elected representatives without first arming themselves with the facts. They only get involved (in large part) with what is going on around them when it affects them personally.

The sort of people who read this are not the sort of people I am describing here, ironically. The problem people are those who do not read the Herald, have never attended a public meeting or a meeting of the Council and only ever make their opinions known when we are discussing building social housing near their home or when their home is near a planning application.

People criticise politicians for being out of touch, but when normal people don’t tell politicians what they want, and the vocal minority with a vested interest does, what hope does the politician have of knowing what people want?

So this, rather than being a bitter rant, is a call to the people of England and of Britain. If you care at all how your country is run, find out how it is run. Don’t rely on the media, but read about our constitutional make-up. And if you find, when you have learnt, that there is something that is not right (and there is plenty) then do something about it. E-mail me at the very least!