THERE are harmless bad clichés and there are offensive stomach-churning clichés.

‘No change is not an option’ falls into the latter category for me.

It is a double negative slogan, used by officialdom, when they want to cut our services and want to show their steely resolve not to be unduly swayed by public opinion.

I couldn’t help but note that Bucks County Council borrowed the phrase last week in a press release about closing day centres.

There has been heavy opposition, lots of consultation and passionate objections.

But, hey, ‘no change is not an objection’, they told us.

I would have thought the council would have known better than to use such a term.

For in 2004, it was this very same mantra that defined Shaping Health Services, the piece of public consultation that ultimately led to the removal of several key departments from Wycombe Hospital.

All the way through the consultation, health officials told us ‘No change is not an option’.

An impressive 40,000 people then signed a petition asking them not to change.

The officials stuck to their guns, however, saying no change was not an option, but then took five years to make the so-called vital change in question – relocating inpatient women’s and children’s services to Stoke Mandeville in Aylesbury.

I imagine they would be terribly embarrassed by the whole thing, for if change was so imperative, why did it take them so long to do it?

But then what do I know?

All I know is that we are in 2010 and the slogan has resurfaced in a Bucks County Council press release, showing people that their protests won’t get the basic decision reversed.

Despite this cliché, the consultation has thrown up the possibility of some day centres being rescued by community groups who would run them.

So, in other words: “No change is not an option, but some change may be avoided.” Doesn’t quite roll off the tongue as well, I suppose.

The county council has to cut services because of massive budget deficits.

However, we revealed recently that they could have saved millions per year by amalgamating existing councils into single ‘unitary’ authorities.

That would have meant scrapping some councils and some council posts.

But they didn’t do it. When it came to scrapping themselves “No change was an option”.

Shame.