Peace, bread and grass cutting

LENIN’S Communist revoution swept to power with a simple understanding: the Russian peasants needed peace, bread and land.

He knew that to ensure compliance and agreement from his countrymen, they needed security.

The slogan resonated, even if the motives were less than pure, as the satire Animal Farm pointed out.

But in Wokingham there are paralells. Two years ago, we covered grassgate: a fundamental and systematical failure of the borough to cut the grass in public areas.

No, not the areas that had been designated as wild flower patches but roundabouts, parks, verges and playing fields.

Last year, it looked like the lesson had been learnt and the new contract from

ISS had bedded in nicely.

But this year? We’re back to square one. The borough looks an utter mess. Roundabouts are dangerous. Gutters have not been treated. Readers are reporting grass heights in excess of a foot.

Clearly something is not right – again. Clearly the new flexible contract the borough’s Executive set up two years ago, under the previous leadership, is proving to be a dismal failure.

Ensuring the borough’s grass is cut is not much to ask is it?

Enough is enough: whatever is in the contract with ISS is not the right stuff. Something needs to change and it needs to change quickly.