I have faced a number of phone calls from journos today.  Asking for replies to Richard Spring’s outburst in effect saying I am solely responsible for delaying the dualling of the A11.  I have placed no formal objection to it.

A couple of points:-

1 It’s interesting to see that Mr Spring appears to say I have more power as a local councillor than Mr Spring has sway at Westminster at the moment.

2 My primary concern is the safety of residents and the daily hazard they face in crossing the A11 and the congestion they face at Fiveways on a regular basis.  Surely I would have failed as a local representative if I didn’t reflect their concerns? 

That said I want the A11 to be dualled.  It’s the strategic highway into Norfolk from the South.  It should be a priority and it needs to be safe and as such local traffic should be separated from it as much as possible.  Is that too much to ask?

So moving forward, let’s take party politics (in the middle of an election campaign - may be difficult) out of it, get the go ahead for the last 9 miles of dualling and make sure we campaign hard for the Fiveways  and associated junctions to be improved considerably.

Please join me in this endeavour Mr Spring, it’s much better to work together on this sort of thing, it’s what people are crying out for.  The reputation of politicians at such an all time low, let’s start to rebuild the public’s trust.

I have been as shocked as anyone by the revelations that MPS have been claiming for anything and everything.   A complet root and branch reform of the system must take place but also the mindset must change so that people elected to office justify to themselves the money they claim or spend.

As a local councillor I hope that I have always tried to justify any spending as it is other people’s cash.   It doesn’t mean that I am against spending money on services but that every penny must be justified.