In the last couple of weeks, we have seen unrest across the country. Thugs callously using the tragic murder of three young girls to attack the police, scare the hell out of ethnic minorities and teach their children and grandchildren a shocking lesson.

For me, this episode shows that those bent on criminality have no scruples. They will nail their colours to any mast that gives them an excuse for violence or hate.

Are their genuine concerns around immigration? Sure. Has the chronic underfunding of local services led to communities becoming isolated and detached? Absolutely. None of this is an excuse.

Whilst Mike Rudkin encourages his Reform members to hide their Reform posters when they attend these “protests”, I prefer to open a dialogue. I support the mission to create a Border Command. This should go further to completely reform Border Control. Using basic administrative procedures to manage incoming, outgoing and the in-between should be the minimum. I will watch this with interest.

Continuing controversy over the way the Home Office was ran by the Tories shows the challenges that are now faced when dealing with illegal immigration.

Local services have been impacted with the complete gutting of funding for councils. This has led to councils making hard choices, increases in council tax and underwhelming economic development at a local level. Whilst devolution will have an impact on a regional level, the likelihood of these changes making an impact to the services that we need is slim. Unless the right people are advocating for these changes.

The future of our local services is not about howling at the moon about what is wrong. It is about positive, constructive ideas on improving the big problems. Small initiatives make small differences but do not fix the systemic issues. Now is time to fix the systemic issues.

Let’s begin.