These last few weeks have seen the collapse of the stock market and of financial institutions that were hitherto icons of this age, created by Thatcher and shouldered by Blair.

After generations of responsible lending some building societies became the irresponsible purveyors of debt and have all but disappeared into new private ownership.

Given the current financial difficulties, this year Powys faces an even tougher economic climate than last year, against a backdrop of rising costs and in a rural area where service provision often costs two to three times more than in urban areas.

We are at a turning point which, when the misery of this credit crunch disappears, will herald a new era of hope and community ethics rather than the Thatcher/Blair vision of an individualistic society where money means everything. The time has come to move from a society where we are so wrapped up in individual concerns, to a society where community ethics and responsibility to society prevail.

My battle will be to protect our local services and lobby the Assembly Government to put people first. Just last week my colleague Kirsty Williams and I met with the Minister Brian Gibbons, along with Gwilym Vaughan and Geoff Petty of Powys County Council, to discuss the impact of the local government settlement on the provision of local services, to ensure that our councils can continue to provide the quality of service that people deserve.

Our councils can be effective in making savings, but we must see above financial constraints to new and innovative ways to overcome the challenges that we will face.

So while the council has switched off street lamps across the county, there is light at the end of the tunnel. A new technology by 'Solardragons' has come to my attention, which can replace the need for grid electricity but continue to power the lighting network on our roads and streets, cutting cost for the future and I will be lobbying Powys Council to investigate these alternatives.

Financial institutions will change and so will society. As my hero once sung, 'the answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind' – it is up to us to be creative and find these answers that will carry us forth to a prosperous future.