[Margaret Pilkington]

I know a councillor, so I am aware of the level of commitment that is needed for this responsible role.
But Neil, you know when you take on the job what it entails....or you should do.
As to whether I would like to go back to having local businessmen in charge of decisions made on behalf of the town......well, quite frankly, if they can do a better job of it and get the town back up from its current sitting position......I don't care.

And don't try to sell me the line that ALL small towns are going through the same doldrums.

Maybe having businessmen in charge might not be such a bad idea......they might actually know what they are doing, have the skills to see what is needed and the muscle to get things done.

Removing party banners would be a good start, breaking the link with political parties might mean that people would choose the right person for the job instead of looking at who travels under what political banner.
In caring for local communities, politics should take a back seat.Those who are councillors should work collaboratively and drop the adversarial stance that seems to be adopted by some on the council(these would probably disappear quite naturally if party allegiances were dropped).