From the Town Deal to the Plan for Neighbourhoods… where have all the millions gone?

When you look at what our leaders are doing, our councillors and our MP, I can understand why so many people tell me they’re disengaging in politics.

Well, ‘politicians, they’re all the same, aren’t they?’ They say, ‘you can’t believe a word they say’.

I don’t think it’s the fact that you can’t believe a word they say I think it’s just the fact that they feel they need to open their mouths and say something when it might actually be better just to stay quiet. Let me give you an example.

The Bayeux Tapestry is coming home and our MP, in the House of Commons, called for it to visit 1066 country. Now for a whole host of reasons; size, the atmospheric conditions in which it needs to be stored, security, the fact that we haven’t got a venue big enough to display it, she must realise there’s not a hope in hell that it can be displayed locally and standing up at Parliament and asking that it should is just senseless noise.

But of course, it’ll generate some Facebook or TikTok traffic. Is that really what our politics has come to? Throw the elect as a few social media memes that suggest we’re getting things done. It was Stephen Lloyd, the excellent Dem MP for Eastbourne, who told me that in the grand scheme of things, backbench MPs have very little power and even less ability to influence things. I’ve been pondering over these last few weeks why people don’t get angry about this. Get angry about the fact that we supposedly live in a democracy but it feels more like we’re largely ignored than fed some trendy buzz phrases dreamed up by a highly paid consultant.

And as for the tens of millions of pounds that recent governmentds have pledged for our town I’m not sure I could point to a single project that has brought benefit to everyday Hastings and St Leonard’s folk. If you do know of one, or if you’re benefiting from one, then please let me know I’d love to write about it!

For more of my rant have a listen to the podcast.

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