Well, after all the activity and stress,  I am again District Councillor for Bramford and Blakenham.  Combining this with my responsibilities as County Councillor for Gipping Valley is a challenge I enjoy.  It is great to be able to deliver things people want across the spectrum of Council activities from planning to potholes and waste collection to care.  However it is on occasion very frustrating when I can’t get something simple, like the bollards in Bramford Road in Gt Blakenham, cleaned adequately.

Many people have told me they value my efforts to keep you informed by writing in “In Touch” and by this web-site and I will continue to do so.

Unfortunately I have lost two valued, hard working colleagues, one in Claydon, and Liberal Democrat replacements were rejected.  As you know it was not our day across the country.  The Gipping Valley, from Woolpit via Stowmarket to Bramford and Sproughton is a great dumping ground for things not wanted in the dormitory areas of High Suffolk.  It is close to Ipswich and the A14 so a logical area for growth but we must ensure it stays a good place to live with the schools, doctors’ surgeries and shops we need to keep our Suffolk way of life.

I believe we will now suffer even more traumatic austerity and the outsourcing of services to the advantage of private equity groups.  People on benefits will take a hammering, and pensions are the largest part of the benefits budget so we must wait to see just who suffers to repair the damage some major banks did to the world economy.

The proposed IN/OUT referendum on Europe I see as a profound risk.  It is democratic to seek the peoples opinion but I fear the power of biased parts of the media.  They don’t like the power of a European Commission they can’t control.   Will they persuade people to believe in some simple, exaggerated and wrong basis for decision?  I do hope that people get enough clear information to make a sound judgement.

I will continue to work hard for you all

John Field

Results:     Turnout    71.64%