I HAD heard rumours the council were intending to foist parish councils on all of Swindon, so last week I went to the council meeting and asked if this was true and was told by the leader of the council that it is.

I asked as a supplementary question; would the people of Swindon be allowed a referendum on this and the council leader avoided answering. So that’s a no then.

This has enormous implications for the people of Swindon. Parishes have money raising powers called precepts and these could be up to £200. What would happen to SBC workers? What would happen to street cleaning and verge cutting when either side of a road could be in different parishes?

These questions, while important, are a side issue really, surely something this important should be subject to a democratic decision and a referendum held. The Tory-led council has no mandate for this measure; it wasn’t mentioned during the last council elections. We must demand the opportunity to vote yes or no for this.

As I said I asked the council leader about parishes based on a rumour I had heard, it hadn’t been in the SA, but the next day there was a full page article by Michael Benke with quotes from Labour, Liberal and Tory leaders but none from the concerned citizen, me, who had brought it to their attention.

But not to worry, Des Morgan has taken to discussing my Adver letters on his radio programme at 9am Mondays on Swindon 105.5.

Maybe he will ask my opinion as an average guy in the street.

STEVE THOMPSON Norman Road Swindon