AWARE of public concern, Wycombe District Council and Thames Valley Police have developed good partnership working, in advance of the new Crime and Disorder Act coming into force next April.

When the worrying news of impending changes to local police structures broke, the administration took swift action to obtain the best possible information, and to share it with the full council on Monday, October 26. An urgent motion to council gave all members the opportunity to discuss future actions, and it was therefore particularly disappointing when an earlier and quite parochial matter gave an excuse for an apparently 'orchestrated' walkout by the entire Conservative Group.

This deprived a large part of the district of proper representation in the ensuing debate, and absent members lost the opportunity to widen their understanding. This was compounded when no member of their group was available for all-party talks with the only Buckinghamshire representative on the police authority.

This posturing must stop, if Conservative members want to be taken seriously as representing the public's most pressing concerns.

Cllr Mrs Clare Martens

Labour Group Leader

Wycombe District Council

Forest Point

Hunters Hill

Micklefield Road

High Wycombe

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.