SOME people thought a minority Conservative council would be unable to get anything much done between now and next May.

It is true our opponents are dragging their feet on some important changes we want to make. But we have just won a vital battle which really does set our council on a new path.

At the heart of the manifesto we stood on was a pledge to peg any rise in the borough's share of council tax to the rate of inflation. Only Conservative councillors would commit themselves to this because we are the only ones who are dedicated to the necessary financial discipline to make this happen.

We now have cross-party assent to our corporate plan, which means it is now official council policy to adopt this freeze for the next three years.

If our opponents get the chance, they might go back on this pledge this time next year.

Our commitment on council tax is just part of a cultural shift which reflects the influence of Conservative thinking and priorities.

The corporate plan will drive a new focus on accountability to the users of council services.

The long Labour years when all that mattered was activity, with too little done to check the value or point of that activity, can now be put behind us.

The council has adopted a watchword - "making a difference" - and all it does can now be tested against this motto to see if it's worth doing.

The council can now get on with some of the things we've wanted for a long time - focusing on how we can secure a growing economy for Redditch, safer streets, better leisure facilities, more independence for the voluntary sector and better local transport.

Important work is being done on how we can extend the Dial-a-Ride service, on the issue of concessionary fares generally, on raising the value and profile of community centres in their local districts.

Redditch has lacked a really clear sense of its priorities and needs in the past. But in a few short weeks since the May elections, we've been able to address these things.

The council is now in better shape to help achieve what local people have been saying they want for quite some time.

Redditch Council Leader Gavin Smithers