Tone down the feisty rhetoric (From Echo)

Tone down the feisty rhetoric

8:10am Friday 27th July 2007 in

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In attempting to discredit the East of England Regional Assembly's initial estimate on the number of traveller pitches needed in Basildon district, Basildon Council leader Malcolm Buckley has shown himself to be a strong detractor in finding a peaceful resolution to the Dale Farm saga (July 23).

Why doesn't Mr Buckley tone down his feisty rhetoric and offer support to establish the number of travellers living in his district?

Surely, Mr Buckley agrees that in a county where 20,000 to 25,000 homes are set to be built in each of the next five years, the allocation of 1,220 pitches for travellers, less than 1 per cent of the total, is a reasonable and even necessary number.

Perhaps Mr Buckley's failure to compromise and aid in the implementation of the survey stems from the fact that he has painted himself into a political corner concerning the travellers at Dale Farm.

His council's allocation of over £2million-worth of council funds in order to evict the travellers at Dale Farm is a sad reminder of his obsession with seeing the travellers gone.

Instead of spending his time conjuring up ways to decry the findings of institutions such as the East of England Regional Assembly, Mr Buckley would better serve himself and his constituency by coming up with an alternative figure before firing accusation from the hip.

Zach Scott
Dale Farm
Crays Hill