It’s all rather depressing. Everything both nationally and internationally seems broken.

So, I want to try and be positive. To show that the county council is playing its part. Also touch on wider issues of devolution and taxation.

As a new administration we are working to be inclusive. Working across party political divides with compromise and consensus to arrive at the best solutions for Devon’s residents.

We don’t always agree, but the near unanimous support for the budget shows we’re moving in the right direction. We reject the yah-boo politics of Westminster. We will do it our way, the Devon way.

Investing in Children and Roads

Economic growth is the holy grail. It generates more tax revenue which in turn can be invested in the key public services.

I can’t tell you the number of strategic economic growth plans I’ve seen in my twenty odd years as a councillor. Often produced by expensive consultants and invariably sitting on a shelf collecting dust. Full of motherhood and apple pie with jam tomorrow.

At the council we are taking a two-pronged approach; invest in our children and infrastructure. The latest budget sees the largest percentage increase in children’s services. These children will be the future workforce. They need to have the skills and agility to compete in the global marketplace.

The second area is around infrastructure. As a region the southwest has been let down by successive governments.

The rail service is perhaps the most obvious example but not the only one. It’s desperately unfair that our children receive up to £5000 less annually for their education. Many rural areas have been failed by the government funded roll-out of super-fast broadband.

Private companies have been able to manipulate the system and not deliver the service we were promised. And the state of our roads! Of course, we will continue to lobby government, but we now need to take the initiative.

We are borrowing money to invest in our roads. Government talks about growth but is of little help. We have to have our own plans.

Genuine Devolution

To achieve even more of this self-reliance and resilience, we need genuine devolution. It was encouraging to hear the chancellor talking about mayors having more financial autonomy.

The problem is we don’t have a mayor, and no sign of one on the horizon. Fine if you’re a northern mayoral region, but what about the Southwest? All we do have is the wretched Local Government Reorganisation.

We were promised that with the reorganisation would come mayors. All we are left with is a process that will cost local council taxpayers tens of millions of pounds.

Far from devolving powers and funding downwards, it’s a power grab by government. Yet more centralisation of a failing system. If they want growth, then give us the powers and funding to deliver. Let’s face it, they seem pretty clueless.