The fate of Wiltshire and Swindon Fire Authority is now close to its inevitable conclusion.

In the current climate of austerity there was to be a revenue shortfall of over £4 million to be overcome if effective fire cover was to be maintained across the county, and large scale redundancies and fire station closures were to be avoided.

The only logical way forward was a carefully researched and costed proposal for a merger – or combination – with Dorset Fire Authority.

There are now clear indications that this will go ahead. Even central government has cleared the way for extra capital investment on the basis that the combination will be achieved.

Yet for some unfathomable reason Wiltshire Council is adamantly refusing to support this sensible outcome. On October 21, a Conservative majority rejected the case for combination. In a very strange debate Conservative councillors blatantly attacked the Fire Authority, saying it was poorly organised and operated. My immediate response is to wager that most citizens of the county would back the Fire Service in contrast to Wiltshire Council.

I still don’t fully understand why the majority of Conservatives voted as they did – against the position of national government. The two most likely and linked explanations are that Wiltshire Council administration had some vague hopes of further empire building by taking over fire functions and/or they are totally out of touch with the reality of fire service operations.

Thankfully, at the end of the day, Wiltshire Council’s inability to engage with reality will have little impact on the Fire Authority’s decision to combine. If it had; lives and property in our county would be seriously at risk. Nonetheless the revealed predisposition of Conservatives at County Hall remains most worrying.

Jeff Osborn, Independent Wiltshire Councillor.