
This blog is my attempt to connect directly with the people of Essex. I hope that it will become a forum for discussion and debate around many of the issues and challenges facing our county. In a sense this is as much your blog as it is mine - so make the most of it and send me your thoughts and comments. In return, I hope to be able to get across a little of what I and the rest of my colleagues in County Hall do; how we are trying to make Essex a better place to live and work, how we are trying to improve the services we offer to you and how we are attempting to promote Essex, locally, nationally and internationally.
Friday June 20, 2008 I wanted to add my personal condolences to the families and friends of the five members of the 2nd Battalion of the Parachute Regiment, based in