I’ve been out door knocking this week. It’s one of the most important things I do. You pick up individual cases and get an idea of what people are most concerned about from a council perspective.

You won’t be surprised to hear potholes are the main issue! Listening to residents you also get a feeling of the general mood. With everything happening, both at home and abroad, people feel ill at ease. There is a sense of apprehension, anger and frustration. These are troubling times.

I hear people expressing concern about illegal immigration. There are some, who would have you believe, addressing this issue will solve all our problems. That is not the case. Even if we stopped every single illicit entry into this country the difference to us would be negligible.

There are others who call for an end of immigration altogether. Notwithstanding the moral arguments or a nation built on immigration, it would be a disaster for us. Our economy would grind to a halt. We must be wary of false prophets selling us simple solutions to complicated problems.

If you are looking for someone to blame, what about corporate Britain and omnipotent multinationals. From the water industry to social media companies, from supermarkets to private equity and hedge funds; we are being fleeced. While our attention is diverted, we are losing sight of what really matters. It is inequality that will break us.

There is no doubt we face huge economic challenges. My concern is government is being buffeted from both sides. On the one hand you have corporations demanding fewer rules and regulations to allow them unfettered economic growth. While on the other, welfare reforms are stymied by agitated MPs. More than ever there needs to be a clarity of vision and direction but it’s self-evident there is neither.

Devon County Council is a small microcosm of the national picture. We have a budget of £2 billion with ever increasing demands coupled with ever decreasing revenue streams. More and more, we are being forced to fund our services from local taxation. It’s the last thing we want to do, not least because council tax is a regressive form of taxation, but there’s little choice. Things have to be done differently to try and break the cycle of more taxes and yet worse services. Too often in the past the council has taken short-term financial fixes which end up costing us more in the long run.

We are determined to have a different approach. Decisions should be based on medium to long term outcomes, creating more sustainable and resilient services for the future. We also know we cannot do this on our own and we need to develop meaningful partnerships with other agencies and the community. It is our job to explain each step of these journeys to bring people with us.

Absolutely we won’t get everything right and inevitably there will be some short-term pain. If we lose your confidence, you can vote us out at election time. That’s democracy, unless of course the government cancels it!