It seems that once again Southampton City Council has its eye on this part of the New Forest, and everywhere else for that matter, but particularly the Waterside area where I am the Parliamentary candidate for UKIP.

Rather benignly the council mentions that talks are under way to consider plans for a Metro-Mayor and over arching Solent-Wessex authority in the hope it will attract billions from central government.

Over the last few nights in the Daily Echo we have seen articles concerning talks – talks in which our New Forest residents it seems have no say.

Just to get the record straight a vast majority of our residents don’t want to belong to ‘Solent City’.

They don’t want a mayor and they certainly don’t want to be controlled by a group of councillors who are so far removed from the area but would probably love to agree to build another container port at Dibden Bay, something we are fighting hard to prevent.

I for one will not accept having to pay for yet another tier of Government, and more council managers. The trouble with this is that local government is something that Central Government has always encouraged by removing power from the centre and devolving it.

However all that will be done here is creating another mini central government for Hampshire, Sussex and Dorset.

I fear that local issues will simply be taken as part of a larger and more disconnected system, where housing, welfare, unemployment and care for the vulnerable will become even more complex and difficult to manage.

As Ian Murray commentates some may look at the great metropolitan monsters that exist in Manchester and Birmingham and think we should have a go here, but we have yet to see if they are successful or not.

It is foolish, in my view, to rush headlong into something we may regret.

He comments that with an elected mayor, a strong Cabinet and some of the best civil servants in the country we can make this a success.

I hate to bring it up but wasn’t the city brought to a grinding halt recently due to the best civil servants and political powerhouse that is Southampton City Council, overloading the transport system to such an extent that it collapsed?

If we can’t get it right here how on earth will a super county council get it right?

UKIP policy is to ask the people what they want, when Mr Perry sits behind his desk dreaming of mayoral status he should ensure he considers asking the people what they want first.