In an ideal world, council officers are there to implement policies decided on by elected councillors. The council officers serve the councillors and they both serve us, the residents who through the council tax, pay their salaries and allowances. In an ideal world that is…

We live in a far from ideal world. Senior officers at Thurrock Council have on too many occasions proved to be less that transparent and accountable. The Tory councillors on the ruling group seem to be either reluctant or incapable of holding senior council officers to account for their actions, particularly when they screw up.

If any local councillors ever wonder why turnout at council elections is low, maybe they should consider the part senior council officers have played in undermining what little faith residents may have had in local democracy. We can’t elect and vote these officers out, even when they screw up and then refuse to be held accountable. A lot of people can see this and their conclusion is that if this is the state of affairs, what’s the point of casting a vote?

We’re far from being alone in thinking that senior officers have been allowed to get away with their high handed arrogance for too long, aided and abetted by a ruling group that’s incapable of reining them in. Will 2021 be the year this starts to change? Let’s make it so…