In four short months Hillingdon has gone from a Council taking decisions which had consensus, to an elected dictatorship changing the constitution at will. We now have what can only be described as a complete shambles with key decisions on the governance of the Council being made in the courts and the future of a £150 million school building plan being decided on barely 24 hours before a crucial deadline.

In August Councillors were summoned to a special meeting to set up four new committees to try and sort out the mess that the Conservative administration has got itself into over the role of the former Chief Executive. I had a speech all prepared but had to tear it up after the matter appeared before the courts and I was warned off (sorry advised!) by the borough solicitor.

This is all a massive distraction from the business of running the Council and making sure that services provided are the best they can be. There is a vitally important role for Councillors in Hillingdon as there are many residents who are dependant on the services of the Council be they young and old, homeless and residents, employed and unemployed. Political shenanigans the like of which we have seen in Hillingdon bring the whole system into disrepute.

Speaking of which as I write this article Tony Blair is being heckled by the TUC and we have had a week of massive uncertainty as to who will be our next Prime Minister in a few months time. It was only 16 months ago that Tony Blair was returned with a significant majority yet we are expected to accept whoever the Labour Party and its Unions decide should replace him to serve the rest of the term!

It's a disgrace and a shambles isn't it? It sounds familiar too!