THE Pope said we must be aware, we must be very aware, and there’s no doubt in my mind that we’re a nation of panderers. It’s increasingly apparent that we have ruling bodies that just can’t say No.

People come in from abroad and commit crimes, but do we send them back to their own country?

Oh no. Put them in prison – we’ll foot the bill and, when they come out, let them stay.

Even those that have been inside on terrorist charges will be free to roam our streets and cost us a fortune in covert police surveillance.

Why do we do it?

Then there are those groups of people who we always thought wanted a free travelling life.

They now set up camps that become permanent. This is done without planning and then authorities adopt the stand of ‘Well let’s look the other way.’ But you try building without proper planning permission and see what happens.

MPs fiddle expenses, the papers make a huge fuss, we tut tut, but has it stopped? Has anyone been sacked?

Shamed?

How much has been paid back?

Here in our town, we have stood by and let them take away our market, close our main street, inflict a one-way system and spend fortunes on a orbital route that is specifically designed to take people out of the town when the main object should be to get them in, stay here and boost our trade.

And ‘they’ thought that having our Christmas Nativity scene outside our Town Hall might offend some people, Well, I have news for them – not displaying it really offends me. The Pope said we must be aware.