Former Councillor Bob Lanzer

03/09/2026

Soaring energy prices compromise economic growth and negatively impact our standard of living. The Labour government needs to address the causes, including its own policies, more than the symptoms.

From October 1st, the Energy Price Cap will rise by 3.6%, taking typical household energy bills to £1,723 a year. This follows the 13% increase that came in at the start of July. When added to rising bills such as council tax and water, the high costs of rents and mortgages, and high petrol and die...

26/08/2026

Devolution is not nearly so empowering as the Labour government suggests.

The Government are making much of Andy Burham’s history as Mayor of Greater Manchester and how it will shape his plans, although they aren’t highlighting that he isn’t the first Prime Minister with a mayoral background.

26/08/2026

Successive government's have dithered in renewing our strategic nuclear deterrent resulting in CASD (Continuous At Sea Deterrence) patrols of extraordinary length. Imagine being couped up underwater for 205 days. Even being welcomed back by the Prime Minister might not fully compensate!

To give some perspective, the post-apocalyptic novel, "On The Beach" by Nevil Shute, had two surviving American nuclear submarines completing fictional record underwater journeys of 32 days (USS Swordfish) and 27 days (USS Scorpion). Yet these fictional records pale compared to today's British reality.

A Vanguard-class submarine returned to Faslane today after 205 days away, breaking the previous record for the longest unbroken patrol by a Royal Navy submarine. This boat left its base in September 2025 and has been underwater for more than six and a half months. She was relieved in the last few da...

25/08/2026

The Labour Government has seriously damaged the retail sector and town centres. Our Crawley Borough Council photo-opp Labour leadership is not addressing the issues.

I often hear concerns raised by residents about the state of our town centre. Many people mention antisocial behaviour to me and say Crawley town centre is declining. The ongoing closure of major stores in Crawley is a loss we all feel, with each one chipping away at our town centre’s overall offe...

12/08/2026

Motorists now face a negative policy onslaught from both national and local government. This is something that only the Conservatives will put right.

Most of us use a car, either as a driver or passenger, and yet while motorists are generally good for our economy, it feels like they are blamed for much of life’s ills and treated as easy cash cows to milk. This view permeates throughout government and town halls, and it needs challenging.

10/08/2026

An enjoyable afternoon at the Crawley Down, Copthorne and Turners Hill Conservatives tea party. With the ground scene in this picture, it could have been taken somewhat further away.

05/08/2026

The importance of an inclusive approach to the viewing of major sporting events.

Many of us enjoyed watching the recent football World Cup and England’s great run helped to make it memorable. There were concerns raised during the tournament, and what has happened since has brought those concerns back into sharp focus.

04/08/2026

Attending the Southeast Communities Rail Partnership CIC Board meeting at a parched Reg's Garden, Farnborough North Station, and subsequently chairing the Stakeholder Advisory Board (SAB).

Chairing the SAB was an interesting challenge as we were treated to a fine flying display by a USAF (United States Air Force) F-35A Lightning II. This is the CTOL (Conventional Take-off and Landing) variant but that makes little difference. All three variants are very noisy!

Reg's Garden is a large-scale garden gifted to the community by the Farnborough North Train Station Master and his family who lived in the house adjacent to the line and level crossing. The garden includes a formal garden, a community food garden, a wild garden, bee hives, composting area and allotments for local residents. The garden is wheelchair accessible.

A range of partners, including Farnborough Street Residents' Association, worked together to restore this important space. If is a fine example of a community working in partnership, with some of the contributors recorded in the attached photographs.
The blue plaques are part of the Railway 200 project which celebrated 200 years of our railways in 2025. They depict people associated with our railway and there are 200 in total across the 10 lines associated with Southeast Communities Rail Partnership CIC.

03/08/2026

Traditional Labour - hefty spending announcements. The extra tax and borrowing comes later. Repaying the national debt is already the third largest area of government spending!

A week ago, just before Andy Burnham became Prime Minister, I wrote in this column the following about him. “I suspect he could seek to distract the public with some eye-catching policies, looking to gain short-term popularity, but the same fundamentals and difficult challenges will still exist......

03/08/2026

I am grateful to the Mayor of Crawley, Marion Ayling, and Crawley Borough Council for presenting me with my 35 years' long service badge and a lead crystal spirits decanter at the Full Council on 15th July. It has been an education and a privilege to serve the community for such a length of time through the public and voluntary sectors.