Chislehurst Matters Hat-trick
Following Chislehurst Matters three fold victory in the polls I ask Cllr Mark Smith what's on the to-do list over the next few years.
How do you plan to use your role as Councillor over the next 4 years?
In short, the same way we’ve used the roles in the previous four years!
We believe local politics is about local issues – what happens in your road, High Street, and community – not the mind-numbing soap opera of national politics.
We’ve made it clear that we’re a local party working for Chislehurst and its residents, and we intend to continue to work and campaign on that basis for the next four years.
We see our big win as a strong endorsement from Chislehurst residents, who appreciate what we do and are happy for us to continue.
What are your priorities?
We want the second crossing at the War Memorial junction. It’s in the pipeline but is taking far longer than we’d like so we’ll continue to press for that.
Our other priorities are the issues we spoke about on the doorstep to residents during the campaign – road safety, protecting the Green Belt, supporting local businesses, working with our safer neighbourhood police team so they are aware of residents’ concerns, and the many other issues where people’s lives are affected by decisions made by Bromley Council.
What hard decisions will you need to make?
Like all authorities, Bromley faces severe financial challenges, so we anticipate having to make some very difficult decisions regarding council services. At this stage, we have no idea what these will be, but at all times, we’ll try to act and vote in the best interests of the people we represent.
What do you think of reform wins in Mottingham, Biggin Hill and St Paul’s Cray?
We’re an independent party unaffiliated to any of the national parties, so we won’t comment on Reform’s tactics, policies or how they have fared in other parts of the borough. We look forward to working with the Reform councillors over the next four years.
