Chiltern Villages: Tony Hill (Lib)

WHY am I standing for election as a councillor? Because the pedestrian paths in my area are horrible to walk on; because you can come off a bike if you don’t dodge the broken surfaces as I turn into my road. Basic work is just not done.

In one of the wealthiest areas in Britain our current authority, run by 167 councillors, out of 200, from one party, backed by its own Government, cannot ensure the surfaces where we walk and cycle are safe.

For 22 years I was a head teacher in state secondary schools. I learned that you do not have to put up with low standards, that the stakeholders — parents, staff, students, all of us — can make things better. Fighting for resources, leading and organising, being held to account publicly were my daily experience. I have since chaired a Citizens Advice Bureau, a trustee of three charities, and headed three campaigns standing for Parliament in Maidenhead for the Liberal Democrats. I am at present a parish councillor for Marlow Bottom.

I have lived in Bucks and Marlow Bottom, a marvellous Chiltern Village community, for more than 30 years. I am standing to provide a voice outside those of the 80 per cent one party-controlled administration in Buckinghamshire.

Call it a cry for effective democracy: surely the people of Chiltern Villages can and deserve better than crumbling footpaths and one-party rule.