Alistair Thompson is Conservative candidate for West Bromwich East. He also runs Media Intelligence Partners with business partner Nick Wood, the former press secretary to Conservative leaders William Hague and Iain Duncan Smith.
The Government, both national and local, failed us all during Britain’s ‘great freeze’. Yet disappointingly, and despite there being many angry people, almost no one is talking about how we prevent the UK grinding to a halt the next time we are hit by heavy snowfalls.
Admittedly there was endless news coverage about grit supplies, gas shortages, the effect on the economy and even bringing in the army to get food to isolated properties - but for all this there was no credible plan for getting the streets and pavements clear.
I suspect that the vacillation of the Government was deliberate as they knew that if they kept talking about this problem for long enough, blaming councils and denying any responsibility, then it would simply melt away.
And we must not be distracted by the false talk about grit supplies. We all know there are two major issues with pinning our future hopes on increasing the amount of grit available; firstly, supply.
There are, as I understand, just two mines that supply the UK with all our grit and these were already working at 100% capacity. The Government belatedly responded by suggesting that it would ship in grit from abroad - taking a week or two to reach our shores, and that's before you consider the logistical nightmare of getting it to the right local authority depot and spreading it on our roads.
Secondly, there was also the suggestion that local authorities should carry thirteen days' worth of grit instead of six. But I would argue against this unnecessary cost. It is not just the cost of purchasing the grit, but more importantly storing it in vast warehouses and employing an army of people to look after it. I shudder to think of the horrendous council tax bills that would appear on all our doorsteps should this occur, for one winter in twenty.
Admittedly some of the storage costs could be mitigated if local authorities had not removed the yellow grit bins, which have slowly been removed for no particular reason. I certainly do believe that many of the grit bins should be returned, but this is not the solution as the extra capacity needed is vast.
So here and now I want to float an idea, which I am confident would provide a cheap solution. Undoubtedly I will get a few negative comments; I am happy to take them on the chin and would respond simply by saying that if there is another option, let’s hear it.
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