Standards

A quick reminder of the need for a local government standards code here.  I am something of an outlier on this subject, as I think the Standards System was finally working effectively when the new Tory government decided to abolish it.  The main issues in the early years were vexatious and trivial complaints, which have been reduced by no longer having a duty of complaint, and a failure to presume that complaints should be dealt with first at a local level (as with the Ombudsman).  The abolition of the Standards Board merely means that there is hardly any remedy for a councillor abusing his or her powers.