Does Swindon council have its 'head in the sand' over Brexit?

Certainly Labour councillor for Mannington and Western, Jim Robbins, thinks so.

But the leader of the Conservative administration David Renard (Haydon Wick) has said he should wait band see what the authority is doing before he rushes to judgement.

As spats often do these days, it started on Twitter.

Coun Robbins quote-tweeted a posting by an officer at Tower Hamlets council in London about the commission set up there to examine the impact of Brexit on the Brough.

He added that he wished Swindon council “was sensible enough to do this” and added the hashtag “head in the sand”.

That drew a response from Coun Renard who wrote: "Wait to see the report before deciding if a commission is really worth the time and expense.”

Coun Robbins wanted more details: “Who is writing the report? What are the objectives of it? What research are they carrying out? Who have they spoken to? Are we using our Sustainable Communities Act powers?

To which the leader of the council advised patience: “It will be a Cabinet report and also go to various committees. All will revealed in due course as it isn't finalised yet."

Coun Robbins pointed out that time was in short supply: "It's not like we have any time pressures on this ..."

Coun Renard responded: "There is not much certainty at present either. We should know more in November."