We Are Failing. (by Essex County Council)

High kicking in a way belying his 77 years, an elderly gentleman in Harlow explained why felt obliged to do what local government had failed to do. Those “Hot Legs” went a long way to explaining why so many women of a certain age think he’s sexy!

After Sir Rod Stewart very publicly shamed them, by fixing a nearby road, an Essex County Council cabinet member has warned anyone attempting to repair a road could become liable for accidents. It was a very predictable response from a typically officious gentleman, desperate not to admit that voluntaryism had succeeded where he had failed.

Lee Scott, responsible for highways maintenance at the authority, said: "You can't take matters into your own hands. People must always report potholes to the council, and we will fix anything that's dangerous."

Except they don’t do they? So often local councils put it on a list and that’s the last you hear about it until a local election spurs a “pothole initiative” and then your local area becomes a maze of temporary traffic lights as workers hurriedly drop bit of asphalt in the holes that have been wrecking our suspensions for longer than we care to remember.

The BBC apparently approached Sir Rod for comment, maybe his reply was “I don’t want to talk about it”?

The serious side to all this is that in almost every area of life, government involvement is more than it needs to be. It is often inefficient, tardy and turns councillors into bombastic little dictators. I’m sure everyone reading this can relate to one near them.

It’s time to push back and vote for those candidates who want to shrink all government budgets, not inflate them to the same size as the egos within so many town halls.

Martin Day – Party Secretary