Parents clash with academy trust over Head’s exit and reports of second resignation
Baltonsborough families packed the village hall to question the ACE Trust. What followed was a clash between Trust-speak and parents’ deep confidence in their teachers. Parents are planning further protests. Baltonsborough is a village school, like so many of the schools across my picturesque corner of Somerset. Small classes, familiar faces at the gate, and…
Read MoreClimate resilience starts on our own doorstep
On Monday night I joined 70+ people at The Pilton Stage for a screening of The People’s Emergency Briefing, a film being shared through grassroots community groups to start local conversations about the climate and nature emergency. I was pleased to join the post-screening panel discussion alongside Somerset Wildlife Trust. In the room were two…
Read MoreNo bus, no choice: why Shepton Mallet needs a fair deal on transport
Shepton Mallet is there for the villages. The buses aren’t. Most services stop around 7pm and only one route runs on a Sunday. I’m calling for a Bus Summit in Shepton Mallet to bring the people who can fix it into one room. A bus timetable decides more than when you can travel. It shapes…
Read MoreFrom the pub to the industrial estate: how a conversation led to an MP’s visit
Plenty of great ideas start in a pub, and they can be forgotten by closing time. This one wasn’t. A man I got chatting to told me about where he worked: Evercreech Junction Industrial Estate. Most of us drive past without realising how big it is or how many interesting businesses are there. He talked…
Read MoreClaire Sully – Local Councillor Update for October
My roles:[Attendance: 100%]Elected Councillor for Mendip South, (Lib Dem), since May 2022.Somerset Council Executive: Associate Lead Member for Community Resilience Political: Chair of the Somerset Council Liberal Democrat Group. Committees:Full Council — budget, policy, constitutionPlanning Committee – East (quasi-judicial, predetermination rules apply)Harbour Management Advisory CommitteeFlood Resilience Advisory GroupOutside body: Somerset Rivers Authority Board £50 million flood…
Read MoreWhy I Walk for a Life
Why I Walk for a Life Mental health and suicide prevention were a big part of why I stood as a councillor at Somerset Council. I wanted to see from the inside what is actually being done, and what a unitary authority has the power to do. On Thursday 17th of September, Shepton Mallet hosts…
Read MoreTwo Days in Westminster: Standing Close to History
I have just come back from a two-day trip to the Houses of Parliament. I was there informally, and had the privilege of two separate visits on consecutive days. That gave me the time to spend with Baroness Suttie. Baroness Alison Suttie has given the better part of three decades to public life. She spent…
Read MoreClaire Sully – Local Councillor Update for September
My roles:Attendance: 100%.Elected Councillor for Mendip South, (Lib Dem), since May 2022.Executive: Associate Lead Member for Community Resilience (Somerset Council Executive)Political: Chair of the Somerset Council Liberal Democrat Group. Committees:Full Council — budget, policy, constitutionPlanning Committee – East (quasi-judicial, predetermination rules apply)Harbour Management Advisory CommitteeOutside body: Somerset Rivers Authority Board Auditors place Somerset Council in the…
Read More60 years of Pilton Pre-school!
I was so pleased to join the 60th Anniversary Celebration at Pilton Playing Fields on Saturday. There was a wonderful display of photographs charting six decades of the pre-school’s history — generations of Pilton (and surrounds) children, families and volunteers, and a lovely reminder of how much a pre school setting can mean to a…
Read MoreI spoke to LBC News about the Bonehill-Paine selection — and why Somerset isn’t a lower bar
I spoke to Steve Holden on LBC News about the Crewkerne South selection this lunchtime (Aug 6th) — and what the Conservatives think a councillor actually does. Listen again on Global Player, my interview starts at 2 hr 20. Joshua Bonehill-Paine, who was jailed for antisemitic harassment, was selected as the Conservative candidate for Crewkerne…
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