IT is time to sing the praises of Wilmslow High School - and the high schools at Knutsford and Rudhe

In the face of competition from better-resourced private schools, it has turned a corner.

Its results are excellent.

Its sixth form is thriving.

Its headteacher Roy Lyon and his deputy, Gill Bremner, have ambitious plans for expansion.

I do however have one minor complaint about the changes made so far.

It has been drawn to my attention that, while the school's entrance hall was being redecorated during the summer, the plaque unveiled by Neil Hamilton MP at its opening ceremony was taken down and not replaced.

In the opinion of his successor, that's a mistake.

Our history belongs to us. It is the story of who we were, through good times and bad, and even of whom we elected.

It is not for us to reinvent it or unscrew it from the wall, in the manner of East European revolutionaries.

It was only a plaque after all, not a statue of Lenin.

Besides, both your present and past MPs can set aside past differences and declare a common interest here.

I have unveiled a couple of plaques myself and I would be saddened if they were taken down when I fell out of favour.

At least the pupils could vote on the issue.

It might provoke a lively debate.

FOR one reason or another, which may have something to do with events last year, I still have no formal contact with Tatton's Conservatives (except as individuals, and they could hardly be friendlier).

But the Tories at Westminster are a different matter.

They have asked for my support, and received it, on an issue of some importance.

Together with Oliver Letwin MP, one of their constitutional experts, I have co-sponsored a proposal which also has the backing of Charter 88 and the Electoral Reform Society.

This is to set up an independent commission to oversee the forthcoming referenda (I studied Latin once, and will not allow any other plural of referendum) on such issues as the voting system and the European Common Currency.

These referenda and others, whether we like them or not, will be an increasingly important part of our democracy.

They will decide great constitutional changes.

Common sense tells us that governments, like pollsters, can obtain the result they want by asking the question they want.

All the more important then, that an independent body should frame the question and preside over the process.

Whatever the result, it has to be one in which the people have confidence.

Already, I believe, we have the makings of an all-party coalition.

The Liberal Democrats seem broadly in favour, and at least one Labour MP has joined the cause.

I see no harm in Tatton setting the trend.

WE have our own Mother Courage in Knutsford.

I have never met a braver or more determined woman than Mrs Jan Edwards, the widow of Dave Edwards, the British Gas engineer who died in mysterious circumstances in St Petersburg nearly four years ago.

According to the official account Mr Edwards was knocked over and killed, late at night, by a police car.

The family are increasingly inclined to believe that he was murdered, and that the murder was then covered up by the authorities.

At the adjourned inquest in Warrington, the coroner heard evidence that Mr Edwards had been killed by a vehicle travelling at high speed, partly on the pavement, and going the wrong way down a one way street.

Whether it was an unlawful killing will be for the coroner to decide when the hearing resumes in November, but it hardly sounded like a routine traffic accident.

To my mind, the most extraordinary evidence comes from Brian McGuire, who was Mr Edwards' boss at British Gas and flew out immediately to investigate his death.

He testified that he had taken his inquiries up to a certain point, but then felt threatened by Russian security men, and drew them to a close.

"I have spent many years overseas," he said, "and don't expose myself to danger." That struck me as odd, because when we talked briefly outside the court Mr McGuire reminded me that this wasn't our first encounter.

We had met once before in Sarajevo.

In those days it was impossible to go to Sarajevo without exposing yourself to danger.

His statement puzzled me. The Edwards family are surely entitled, at whatever risk, to a more thorough account of what happened than they have so far received.

They should also know that they are not alone. They are widely admired for their courage and persistence.

PLANS are already being put into practice for better security in our town centres.

Knutsford may soon follow the example of Northwich, where closed circuit TV cameras have helped to cut the crime rate.

This is all well and good.

My concern is that these hi-tech measures may not so much deter the criminals, as divert them to easier targets remote from the high streets.

Recent raids on village post offices suggest that this is already happening.

The post-mistress at Styal has been doubly penalised.

She has not only lost much of her business because the second runway has led to the closure of Altrincham Road, she has also, and more alarmingly, been robbed twice at gunpoint.

She is valiantly staying in business, and has even expanded it - opening a country and western store for the line-dancing crowd.

She deserves both success and security.

It ought to be a cardinal principal, in our policing as much as in our planning, that no special favours be given to the big business rather than the small ones.

Indeed, if there is to be preferential treatment, it should go to the vulnerable village shops and post offices.

They are much more at risk, and provide an irreplaceable service to the local community, especially the elderly and disabled.

Memo to the Chief Constable: It is the 'little people' who need your help.

The big battalions will always be better placed to look after themselves.

Converted for the new archive on 13 March 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.