Lewes Forum thread

Go on, tell 'em what you think

Lewes Forum New message

Thought for the Day

On 29 Mar 2016 at 7:42am SHS wrote:

Why do ordinary working people have to give up their time to fight for such basic essentials as (a) local primary schools, (b) a post office and (c) a fully operational railway and stations? Why are electricity and gas prices so high? The country is crumbling (despite being in the EU).

On 29 Mar 2016 at 2:40pm Ghost of Maggie wrote:

Just rejoice and be thankful that you are reaping what I sowed.

On 29 Mar 2016 at 3:09pm Tipex wrote:

Not so much a thought for the day as a political statement.

On 30 Mar 2016 at 8:43am Fairmeadow wrote:

It's called representative democracy. Instead of having a king or dictator appointed or imposed on us, we elect representatives to run the place for us.
Most of the time, and on most issues, we leave them to get on with it, and they do. However they don't really know what we want, and they are inevitably under political pressure and financial pressures from above, so from time to time there will be pressures to do silly things, like close two local schools unattractive to the academy chains at a time when the birth rate is rising. Then we have to tell them loudly what we want, and if we make our case well they may listen.
Whatever your political views, both the present Lewes MP and her predecessor have excellent records of paying attention when we make a fuss. Lewes DC and Lewes Town Council have some responsive and alert councillors too. I find it hard to think of any occasions when either East Sussex County Council or the Post Office has listened to what Lewes has to say.
Mind you, we are ourselves at least partly to blame. If we all sent our children to the local school we would have five good schools in Lewes. When we let DFL parents start their threads on "Which is the best local school for my precious little Cressida and Jezabel" and ourselves follow them like sheep we condone a situation in which one or more schools are bound to lose out. And I have to admit that I avoid Lewes Post Office like the plague because of its queues and in accessibility.