Dear-oh-dear-oh-dear.

No sooner had the previous leader of Cheshire East Tories stepped down in total denial, new Conservative leader Janet Clowes stated: “It was evident throughout the local election campaign that residents are frustrated and angry over the failure of Government to deliver Brexit.

“We saw this on the doorstep and I believe it influenced many residents in the polling stations.”

Not a single reference to the fury felt by voters at the multiple police investigations, the obscene amount of taxpayers’ money spent on their dreadful hiring and firing policy, the £154,000 spent on a consultant specifically to address bullying issues, fake data on air quality etc, etc.

The change of leadership presented Cheshire East Tories with a chance to take responsibility for their performance.

Instead they spurned the opportunity, choosing to blame the May 2 election on Brexit and anything other than their own performance.

In effect what Cllr Clowes confirmed was it’s business as usual for the local Tory party, which is precisely what their previous supporters did not want to hear.

Clearly, ‘lessons have (not) been learned’ and the old attitudes are alive and well.

Editorial staff at Private Eye must be jumping for joy.

AND LEAD US NOT INTO INCOMPETENCE

Okay, the party is over, banished to the scrutiny committees where they may eventually learn some humility.

For the new regime at Cheshire East it’s show time, and residents are dying to see the opening performance.

They need to be convinced the ruling coalition actually represents residents’ views rather than their own.

They want the new Cheshire East to concentrate on really important local issues like mental health, dementia care, the dreadful state of the roads, infrastructure etc.

Voters do not want to see councillors going off-piste with their own agendas while ignoring the concerns of their own communities.

Spending thousands on vanity projects like new chains of office, redesigning fancy logos and leasing expensive limos etc must be resisted at all costs.

When the opposition parties proposed changing the closed cabinet system of decision-making to a more open committee forum the Tories rejected it to a man/woman.

This proposal is now to be reintroduced and I’m really looking forward to seeing how the Tories vote this time.

Meanwhile the new coalition should demonstrate that they really do have a grasp of genuine local issues and not drift into delusional reverie.

FATAL ROAD ACCIDENTS DOUBLE

According to a report I heard this morning on local radio, fatal road accidents in Cheshire have doubled in the last 12 months.

The report didn’t give statistics for none-fatal accidents, but I think we can assume they followed a similar trend.

The automatic response of the authorities is to blame it on bad driving, but there are other important factors to consider not the least being the non-existent control exercised by local councils on the completion of roadworks.

During last summer’s prolonged dry spell it was common to see work on road improvements completely abandoned by 5pm and often 3pm on Fridays.

What does this say about the concern expressed by local authorities for road safety?

The very time when daylight hours and good weather combined to make it faster and safer to complete dangerous contra-flows, carriageway closures, and general excavation work no-one appeared to give a damn.

The A537 Macclesfield to Buxton Road is recognised as the UK’s most dangerous road.

With its inclement weather, tight bends and long, fast straights it’s a magnet for boy racers. I travel along it regularly and can count on one hand the number of times I’ve seen police vehicles on patrol.

Now you may ask why there would be no officers patrolling Britain’s most dangerous road when they operate regularly on other roads.

You will be forgiven for thinking that as an isolated country road the A537 does not carry the volume of traffic of urban carriageways and therefore produces much less revenue in speeding tickets. It does however get more than its share of fatalities.

Clearly the number of serious accidents on Cheshire’s roads is a serious concern but speed cameras cannot breathalyse drivers, assess the road worthiness of their vehicles or check drivers’ licences etc. It’s time for Cheshire Police to stop talking about road safety and start patrolling our roads.

Meanwhile, the new council coming into office might want to take a look at their predecessor’s failure to exercise any control on the army of contractors that appear to be completely unsupervised.

I would go as far as to say that they are in fact, if not in principle, self-regulatory and working entirely to their own agenda.

One could add that councils should turn on the expensive road lights taxpayers funded only to have them switched off, but I’m sure CEC will have a multitude of excuses for not doing so.None of which will be credible given the current circumstances.

 

By Guardian columnist Vic Barlow