THE crisis in care for the elderly and infirm is a national scandal which Theresa May has chosen to ignore.

Instead, she has passed the buck to local councils. This is like putting a sticking-plaster on a patient who needs major surgery.

The result? The residents of Somerset face inflation-busting council tax rises and massive cuts in services for the most vulnerable.

This is especially unfair to rural counties like Somerset. An attractive place to retire, we have an ageing population, a low-wage economy and a rural sparsity which makes it more expensive to provide basic services.

The Conservative-run county council has made things worse by years of ‘cuts that cost us money’ – spiralling spending on agency staff to make up for savage redundancies in front-line staff.


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They have presided over the rapid collapse of children’s services from the “Outstanding” rating they inherited to the lowest rating of “Inadequate”, despite employing a consultant paid one of the five highest council salaries in England.

Why does Somerset get such a raw deal? Last year, Surrey was given five times as much as Somerset, despite being much wealthier than Somerset.

This year, Surrey has been given a deal which only became public when their council leader sent an email to the wrong person by mistake.

Surrey is the home of the Tory Metropolitan Elite, represented by Cabinet ministers including the Chancellor of the Exchequer and the Health Secretary.

Do Somerset’s Tory MPs and council leaders have any ‘sweet-hearts’ in government?

ALAN PAUL
Fulwood close
Taunton