THE problem with Bucks quite simply is Aylesbury. I have nothing against the town, but it’s simply wrong that the south of the county is paired with it. In fact, it is the root of all our problems if you really think about it.

First and foremost, the bright sparks who run our health services looked on a map of Bucks a few years ago and worked out we had two major general hospitals in the county.

No need for that, they said, let’s centralise and share services. It made sense of course if you thought of Bucks as one all-singing, all-dancing county. But to the people who live here, it makes no sense at all because of the road access to Aylesbury.

Secondly, we have the county council which operates from County Hall in Aylesbury. This council, for perfectly understandable reasons, is now engaged in a series of devastating cuts in a bid to save millions.

I accept that many of the councillors, including the leader, are from this side of the county, but what is the point of local government when it isn’t actually really local to us? Why should we be lumped together with a completely different area when it comes to such big decisions?

Aylesbury is no more local than Watford, Maidenhead, Henley or even Reading. Why not leave the good people of Aylesbury to get on with their lives in peace and let us get on with ours? This idea is nothing new.

Only a few years ago, Milton Keynes broke off from being part of this region. So how about it folks – let’s have independence for south Buckinghamshire.