Today is a New Day - is it really?

As I get older and grumpier I get worried that I am getting more political and want to be politically active for the first time in my life - well we will see if that ever happens.
Where are we in public life and service? We have cabinet ministers maximising their expenses using rules that they make, political parties spending inordinate sums on PR and Walsall Council (the town where I live now) using their web site home page as a spin machine where we get 'sound bite' messages that eventually, if you ever bother, lead you to shallow good news stories with little information saying how great the council is and how well it is working for us all.
I remember that this council has recently been in, what I would call, special measures and nearly had control taken from it by the Audit Commission in 2002 when it was judged by them to be providing 'Poor Service with Poor prospects for improvement'. I hear that the latest assessment in 2008 has improved and instead of being terrible they are now performing well and public satisfaction has increased!. That's not what I hear being spoken in the town and I don't know 'which public' the Audit Commission spoke to in 2008. As a resident in the town I have noticed little change, most people I hear speak about the council still regard them as a will not or cannot do organisation rather than a will and can do one.
For example, in the pub last night, one friend tells of their two year plus battle to get a 'brown' bin, the one used by the council to remove garden waste for composting. First they were told by the council officers it was up to the councillors, then their local councillor said it was up to the officers. Well that's OK then (Audit Commission to note please)-but still no bin. Then last week another councillor said they were up to capacity on the collection rounds for waste and recycling and needed another lorry! Well get one then! and stop wasting money on over running projects like the much delayed ring road (that's only really part of a ring-anyway).
I also remember that the council (Jan/Feb 2009) announced a Mystery Shopper exercise to evaluate the customer service of some, only some, of their services to us. I wait to see the results of the exercise but I wonder if it will appear only as a 'spinning sound bite' on the web site 'home page'?

Then yesterday via Twitter I hear that the controlling (Conservative) group on the council has now elected the next leader of the council, Councillor Mr Mike Bird. Mr Bird has some 29 years of experience on the council so it can I suppose be said he has;
1) lots of valuable experience as a Councillor, in council work, committees, services and 'politics'
or
2) been around long enough to shoulder his share of the blame for the woes of the council and the town.

So is he a good choice as leader or does the council and the town really need a fresh approach from a new person with modern ideas and little or no history/baggage?
I know what I think, it's bad news and I am truly disappointed. I was really hoping for a change in the power base within the council but this is not to be just yet. This leaves me contemplating what I can do about it, probably not a lot, but I resolve to review how I vote in future local elections, to use my vote to the maximum and exercise tactical voting when and if it would be possible to bring about a change.

That's it for now- I feel better whether anyone reads this or not!

Thanks and comments received if you feel like it.