Waking From A Nightmayor
Bristol has voted to abolish the office of elected mayor, only a decade after it was established. This follows a similar decision in Torbay in 2019. The Wessex Regionalists have…
The Somerset Green Space Race
Councils were against it. Local people were against it, MPs were against it. Yet the Planning Inspectorate has approved a massive expansion of Bristol Airport from 10 million to 12…
Stacking Up
Libraries news tends to be bad news. Closures mainly, accompanied by the snarling of those who think that in the Internet age all books should be burned, as useless relics…
Wessexit
Of all the reasons for remaining in the EU the most compelling arises from quietly contemplating the alternative. Being marooned on a small island run by Gove, Johnson and IDS…
Izzy, Whizzy, Let’s Get Bizzy
Or maybe 'Ozzy, Wheezy'. What is the sound of one hand clapping? George Osborne ought to know, following his announcement this week that business rates will be ‘devolved’ to local…
X for Xylas
The WR Council met at Wokingham earlier this month. A raft of new policies was agreed, about which readers may expect to hear over the coming weeks. WR President Colin…
The Founding Fixers
Avon Local History & Archæology – ALHA – does exactly what it says on the tin. It’s an organisation for local history and archæology in the Avon area, serving some…
Onwards and Upwards
Defying expectations, David Cameron, far from being locked out of Downing Street, now has the full bunch of keys (with just 37% of the vote), at least until his slim…
Losing Direction
Last week, plans were announced for a Bucks / Oxon / Northants combined authority, a move that raises important questions of local and regional identity. We’re assured that this is…
Seeing the Light
Here’s a story from the North Somerset Times, a story with outlines applicable throughout Wessex, and maybe across other regions too: “A long-standing member of North Somerset’s Conservative party has…