The word "values" is often used as some kind of statement that expresses commitment to what is right and proper. Values are small lights that give purpose and quality to our lives. The greater the power, the more significant is the impact of values on the social and physical environment we live in.

Central government remains an overwhelming force within society and the values adopted by the government have a great impact on our lives. Yet, is it only my impression that we rarely stop to evaluate the nature of the single values that drive government action?

Take family values. They have always been a cornerstone of our society. Yet does our society really uphold family values ahead of, say, raw commercial interests? Are we nurturing a state where all children can benefit from a healthy environment for mind and body?

I must admit that my experience through last year's local council reform process did leave me somewhat disappointed. We talked and supported many a laudable objective. But the objectives were not necessarily underpinned by a determination to commit the required financial, human and administrative resources to convert words into deeds.

Take the new role assigned to local councils, namely to "protect the natural and urban environment of the locality". This is indeed something that is very close to my heart and could not but have a total endorsement from Labour. Yet, a now familiar fidgety "then we'll see" stare accompanied our questions as to how central government intended to empower local councils to discharge this mammoth task.

The value of good governance seemed to be sorely lacking. Our frustrations have since been further compounded by the government's performance in the power station saga. Not only were local councils hapless bystanders in the whole affair, but central government came across as being a staunch defender of the now notorious chain of events, lending to a sense of collusion, rather than a force to ensure proper governance and accountability in the interest of residents. Government seems to want to persist in denying the facts on the ground. The values of good governance and accountability seem to have been suppressed under the weight of other values that seem to be moulded somewhere deep within the Machiavellian spirit, leaving family values discarded by the wayside.

It may for this reason be that the words of Benjamin Franklin have recently come to mind: "To err is human, to repent, divine, to persist, devilish."