SOUNDS FAMILIAR

If you believe what you read, and hear, in the national media about alleged extensive cutbacks/reorganisation on the way within local councils, could we end up with a sort of Brigg Urban District authority running our affairs, as it did from the late 19th century until the mid-1970s?
Do you remember the days when THE council plumber rode round town on a bike with his tools in a bag over the handlebars?
If something reported to the council didn't get fixed, the rent man would get to know about it in no uncertain terms the following week when he called to receive the next payment in the family rent book.
Councillors and officers - what few there were - only had to concern themselves with what went on in Brigg. The Recreation Ground was "ours" - together with the Corn Exchange, the cattle market, the general market and the cemetery. Plus the extensive stock of council houses, many since sold off under Margaret Thatcher's initiative for people to own their bricks and mortar (and save on council repairs and investment). Brigg's galvanised dustbins were emptied by Brigg's dustcart. Going back a bit further in time, Brigg's "dilly cart" collected, and disposed of, other things belonging to Brigg households. Jobs for the boys? Sorry...
Currently, Brigg Town Council - the lowest tier of local government - does a lot more than many similar town and parish councils in the region (eg allotments, running our community venue, giving grants), but the North Lincolnshire unitary authority is the major provider.
It will be interesting to see how the current coalition is going to tackle the issue of local government reorganisation. And when.
They just might have a team of mandarins and spin doctors reading up on the 1894 Act of Parliament which created Urban District Councils. Or the Local Government Act 1972 which brought in medium-sized borough councils, like our own Brigg-based Glanford.
What goes around sometimes comes around!

Maybe if our MP Andrew Percy, whose party is in power at Westminster, is monitoring Brigg Blog he might wish to share a few thoughts on the topic, although he won't remember Brigg Urban District Council and the way it operated. We were hoping to have a word with him on Saturday, but he was so busy helping constituents that we didn't get the chance.