Local affairs

From time to time I moan about the way that too much power in the UK is concentrated in the centre, mostly in London, with the inference being that it would be better if national politicians gave local politicians a bit more rope.

This morning, Microsoft News brings me an item about Northamptonshire from the Daily Mail, a newspaper that I would not normally care to be caught reading. It seems that the Police and Fire Commissioner appointed a member of his staff as interim head of the Fire & Rescue Service in early July only for her to stand down amid much media comment ten days later. One Nicci Marzek, long time colleague and personal friend of the Commissioner with no prior experience of either fighting fires or rescues.

The Commissioner, one Stephen Mold appears to be a local, IT and conservative flavoured business man, has been in the post some years and is to be found at reference 1 - which points to offices in Crown Street, a mainly red-brick street, both residential and commercial. Possibly in the backyard of a company specialising in engineering plastics. Not particularly grand.

The Fire and Rescue Service sets out its stall at reference 2 and employs near 500 people. A middle sized operation. I have no idea whether it is customary to appoint chiefs from within the fire service. Parachuting in outsiders is reasonably common in other walks of life, even if it is apt to be resented by insiders.

Whatever the case, the people with an interest in this in London should perhaps restrain their trigger fingers, restrain their urge to interfere. Isn't this just the sort of thing that we want Northampton to learn to look after for itself?

PS: while from the other side of the pond, the NYT reports that 'Phoenix Breaks Heat Record With 19 Consecutive Days of 110 Degrees or Higher: The mercury is expected to keep climbing to around 117 degrees in the city Tuesday; similarly soaring temperatures are expected through Friday'. That is to say mid 40's in new money. Let's hope we are not due for another round of hot in the south of England.

References

Reference 1: https://www.stephenmold.com/.

Reference 2: https://www.northantsfire.gov.uk/.