Chairman's diary: New gavel spares chief exec from bruises

Oct 12 2011

Bucks CC chairman Mike Colston

Mike Colston from Great Missenden is Chairman of Buckinghamshire County Council for the coming year. In addition to his responsibilities to his electorate, he will represent the council at numerous events in his civic role – his diary is pretty full already! Keep up to date with where he’s visited and the people he’s met in this weekly column.

Let me start on a light note because one of my duties is to chair the full county council meetings.

Times are tough and making savings seems to be on everyone’s agenda. But some economies are just not worth making – and the Chairman’s gavel is one of them...

Council has purchased a  brand new gavel, which made its debut  at the recent full council meeting. This is not an extravagance in these times of austerity, but a health and safety issue. The old gavel’s head had a habit of flying off and hitting the chief executive on the head!

On a more serious note, I see my term as chairman as an opportunity to help others, and celebrate the diversity that makes Buckinghamshire such a great place to live.

We are incredibly fortunate in this county. We sustain a vibrant economy, live in lovely surroundings and have very good schools. It’s easy to take this for granted and forget that others are not so financially or emotionally well off.

I want to be part of a movement that helps people to help themselves – those less fortunate can, with support, aspire to and achieve amazing things.

I have sat at midnight with disaffected young people, talked to them about how they feel. They’ve said they felt invisible, they get ‘done unto’ and are not listened to. I’ve seen how that can be changed, and am a great supporter of youth organisations creating youth mentors – young people will listen and accept help from other youngsters who have ‘walked the walk’ in a way well-intentioned adults just can’t.

Also, on a visit to supported accommodation unit, I met a delighted young woman with learning needs who, with great pride, showed me her flat – the curtains she had chosen herself, the kettle she had picked out. Her pride and evident joy in living independently for the first time was very moving.

These are the kind of changes we can make in Buckinghamshire, and with the vast network of volunteers in  the county who do tremendous work simply because they want to, I believe we can make a real difference. That’s my goal this year.