Blog: Well it was cheering to see everybody at the Hardest Hit debate at Shirehall last week . . . if worrying that so many had cause to attend.

I did remind you all previously that Shropshire Disability Network was holding the event to bring the harrowing stories of disabled people across the county affected by Governmental penny-pinching, to the attention of our local councillors, and it was great to see how many of you managed to actually turn up on the day.

We had control of the main council chamber (more fool them!) for the whole day and covered some really important issues that have been causing some serious hardship and distress among our local disabled population, demanding answers from council controllers.

Now, I don’t know about anyone else but I’ve always wanted to see inside council chambers . . . like the inside of the Tardis, it’s a place of myth and mystery. Sadly, though I kept my beady eyes peeled all day, I didn’t spot any of the fabled and infamous iPads – and just as well – they certainly wouldn’t have gone down very well on a day when the chamber was full to bursting with those hardest hit by bureaucratic budgetry.

And talking budgets, the day was kindly compered by a local lad about to be directly affected by the BBC’s current financial straits, Jim Hawkins of the late-night rock show on Radio Shropshire. The future of his popular slot now hangs in the balance as the BBC makes some tough choices in an effort to “streamline” local services.

He did a fantastic job for us and highlighted the really important role of local journalism within our communities – without it we lose more than just a radio show or a feature in a local paper. We lose our identities, community ties, and our ability to communicate to the whole local population – not just those with IT access.

Many of our older folk and many of the most remote in our predominantly rural location rely on local radio and feet-up afternoons with the local paper to keep tabs on what’s going on around them, and without them our already crumbling communities will only fragment further.

The quiet rumble of cutbacks and closures is becoming an avalanche, and it’s starting to feel like nothing is safe from this unprecedented economic meltdown.

Citizens gather perks and services around them like skirts as the budgetry searchlight sweeps over, looking for any opportunity to tighten the national belt by a few more notches. Is nothing safe from the brutal axe of recession?

• To find out more about the Hardest Hit campaign organised by Shropshire Disability Network and to check out the council’s response to some of the difficult questions we put to them on the day, go to www.shropshire-disability.net