Sirs,
Peter Morgan complains that Marlborough Town Council will not have a mandate from the community as we have been denied the opportunity to vote for and endorse new councillors. Does he have any suggestions in how to encourage people to stand as local councillors? I notice that he did not stand for election. The Town Clerk has taken action to raise awareness of the need for councillors and what the role entails. The Town Clerk cannot produce a bigger list of the contenders if members of the community won’t take up the challenge of being a town councillor. Therefore there is no purpose in going to the polls as there isn’t a choice.
I notice that a number of the long-standing councillors are stepping down and look forward to seeing how the dynamics of the new council with will work out. I too wish the new council good luck in their endeavours and am grateful to the established and experienced councillors who remain and who are already working hard to cope with the challenges they will have to manage as the consequence of the additional services and amenities they will be providing as a result of financial cuts to County and Unitarian councils by central government.
Marlborough is a disjointed community and lacks cohesion. I feel this is partly owing to the fact that we have not been able to hold on to many of our young people for several decades. The town is full of critics, many of whom are too busy or don’t see the importance of taking up voluntary roles both within the council and in voluntary groups which can make such a difference to the lives of people of the parish. I have great respect for those who do take on such roles that benefit our community and others.
This attitude of standing back and letting other people do the volunteering will mean that the community will get the community it deserves. There is one thing that Peter Morgan and I agree on. I too am aggrieved by the lack of information from the prospective councillors about their motivation for wanting the role.
Yours,
Susanne Harris
Marlborough