Milverton & North Deane— news from your local Conservative Councillor

Tony McMahon

Thank you. As your newly elected Councillor I would like to say thank you first of all to all of you who took the trouble to vote at the recent local elections and a special thank you to all of those who voted for me! After a career of service to my country in the Army it is almost second nature to me to be at the service of the community around me. That is how I see my role and to that end I am prepared to listen to each and every one of the parishioners of the Ward (Milverton, Fitzhead, Lydeard St Lawrence and Tolland) regardless of party politics and hopefully not all at once. The administration and leadership of Taunton Deane is usually managed by the Party with the most seats and this time round it will be the Liberal Democrats. That, however, should not alter the well-tried system of scrutiny within the Borough Council to ensure fair play and transparency in all matters. I should make it clear that in my privileged position I have to remain personally impartial in everything that I do on others' behalf otherwise I will lose what influence I have in representing people's views and concerns to the Council and to all involved.

In my contact with the Council thus far I have been impressed by the genuinely balanced way in which the various departments operate and by how approachable they all are. They cannot always please everybody but it is my job, I believe, to make sure that they have all the facts in front of them when making plans and decisions so that they produce properly considered outcomes. I cannot do that without your input so please don’t hold back....

Do use your Parish Council, it has a very good reputation in the Borough and I attend their monthly meetings. I often walk my dog (with plastic bag in my pocket!) around the village so feel free to buttonhole me then or on the telephone - 01823 401257.

My aim? Simply to do what I can to help maintain this Ward as a wonderful place in which to live and with your help and input I hope I can achieve it."