How often can it be said that a councillor takes a flyer and takes you for a ride at the same time? Answers on a post card, please. But Richard Bennett must take the biscuit. The former leader of Reigate and Banstead BC is fast becoming the Biggies of local government. No sooner had he stood down as the Tory leader at the town hall in 2001 than he took up the chance to fulfil his boyhood dream of taking up flying. Having never knowingly turned down the chance to risk life and limb in the interests of baring the soul of local government, I took up the chance to join him for a spin. As the ride got bumpier and bumpier and I went greener and greener, Cllr Bennett revealed that his local government boots were still firmly on. The former chemistry teacher-turned small businessman flew us over a local housing estate at the centre of a new study he has just finished for the Local Government Association.
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