Events in the United States and around the world offer a warning for Taunton and Somerset: division may win politicians support in the short term, but it rarely solves the problems people face in their daily lives.
When the political pendulum swings towards the extremes, it can take years to bring it back. Trust is damaged, communities become more divided and the work of repairing institutions and public services is made harder.
We should not wait for anger and division to take root here before choosing a better course. What Somerset needs is a confident politics of the middle ground, rooted in liberal democracy.
That does not mean avoiding difficult debates, including the serious pressures facing social services, or assuming that every policy is right.
It means bringing together the best of different ideas: enterprise and fairness, personal freedom and shared responsibility, ambition and compassion.
It means disagreeing without treating those who hold different views as enemies. Every person should have a genuine opportunity to succeed and to choose their own path.
A fair society should help people develop their talents, build secure lives and contribute in ways that matter to them and to the wider community.
Prosperity should not be a prize reserved for a few; it should create opportunity across Somerset’s towns and rural areas. That requires secure jobs, investment in local skills, homes people can afford, reliable transport and access to good healthcare.
A stronger local economy can support public services and give families greater security. The pressures of conflict, energy costs and climate change also show why cooperation matters: these challenges do not stop at county boundaries, and communities cannot meet them by turning against one another.
Somerset’s strength lies in its people and the things we can achieve together.
Let us reject the politics of division and build a fairer, more prosperous and more secure future, where everyone has the opportunity to succeed and where progress benefits the whole community.
Habib FarbahI
Taunton
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