The Culture of secrecy and fear at Waverley

In February 2005 Councillor Chris Slyfield resigned as leader of Waverley Borough Council.

In the Farnham Herald Councillor Slyfield spoke of his

"deep frustration with the climate of fear and relentless secrecy that has stood in the way of councillors getting on with the job we were elected to do."

His opposite number David Harman is quoted as saying

"I, too, detect an atmosphere of fear and relentless secrecy."

While Harman does not attribute this to the senior management of Waverley numerous councillors do, on both sides of the divide, as the New Farnham Repertory Company knows from conversations with them.

NFRC supporters may recall the resignation letter of Councillor Malcolm Walton in which he described how he tried to find out about the Redgrave:

"All I had to do was accept that those who understand such matters knew what they were doing and NOT to rock any boats by asking any awkward questions in the public domain. So, for the first time in my not inconsiderable political life, I found myself gagged and 'whipped in' by a party disciplinary machine that both Tony Blair and William Hague would envy."

However, in recent years councillors have been freeing themselves from this repellent culture, a sign of which is the determination of new Council Leader Gillian Ferguson to make the restructuring of senior management at Waverley her first priority.

NFRC wishes her well. It is important.

DW, February 2005