Pseudo democratic consultative facades are commonplace throughout all tiers of central, regional and local government. Public meetings take place and voices are raised. Rarely does anything change as a result in my experience. All too often it's just a big waste of air,

I have yet to meet a busy council officer who will strive officiously to keep anyone alive. Neither have I seen any council officer actively kill anyone either. I guess their tactical and strategic confabs can make it appear like something is being done even when no good is actually achieved; a bit like the opposite of a healthy swimming swan.

Anyone who celebrates a regional accent as anything other than quaint fails to see that anywhere in the world you go; whether to Edinburgh, Cornwall, London, Moscow or Hong Kong, Standard English or RP exists. By definition, something, which is OK or good whilst also being below standard, should be improved. The same should be said to anyone trying to defend an unintelligible regional accent whilst distorting our English language.

You need to be quiet now and stop wasting our air.

There are not many things I am more afraid of than horses. They are so unpredictable, big and menacing. Give me a ferocious dog any day of the week, but keep the horses away.

I was on leave from local and regional politics, as long as I was a Minister.