Chris Carter IT seems it is time for some blue sky thinking to ensure we are all coterminous over the need to scrap council jargon. Forgive the gobbledegook, but it was sparked by news that local authorities in England and Wales have been told to replace much of their

Chris Carter

IT seems it is time for some blue sky thinking to ensure we are all coterminous over the need to scrap council jargon.

Forgive the gobbledegook, but it was sparked by news that local authorities in England and Wales have been told to replace much of their favoured vocabulary with plain English - oh my goodness how will they survive!

It's long been a bugbear for journalists as they plough through agendas with furrowed brow and translation book to hand.

It has been suggested it's the use of jargon in the wrong context which confuses, and that it is not intentional. Other more cynical folk suggest it is bid to pull the wool over our eyes.

Lovers of plain speaking may not be too happy, though, with the news that Redbridge's Tory group has ousted Cockney cabbie Alan Weinberg.

Whatever you thought of him as a leader, he was not one for jargon.

The Recorder has had some fun with Cllr Weinberg, especially with his penchant for Jaguar cars spawning the Three Jags front page.

He's never shied away from a picture opportunity and has enjoyed a high profile in the borough.

A wounded Weinberg might now feel the need to reconsider his choice of language.

Maybe now's the time to lift a well-worn phrase from the book of the ousted, "I am leaving to spend more time with my family".

Or maybe even dip into the book of council jargon: "I am cascading my duties to my colleagues in order to empower them!