Screen Wash Sales a Wiltshire Council Priority, Say the Tories!

The latest debate at Wiltshire Council suggests that even screen wash has become part of the climate conversation. Former council leader and current Conservative group leader Councillor Philip Whitehead has accused the authority of “virtue signalling” after it failed to take action promised almost a year ago over the sale of ready-mixed screen wash.

The issue was first raised in October 2025, when Councillor Whitehead and fellow Conservative Councillor Christopher Williams brought forward a motion describing the transport of large quantities of water in ready-to-use screen wash as “climate madness”. Their proposal called on the council leader or relevant cabinet member to write to major retailers, ask them to stock concentrated alternatives, publish supportive responses and encourage other councils to follow suit.

Is This Really the Priority?

Residents are already dealing with rising fuel and energy bills, higher mortgage costs, increasing rents and taxes, and persistent local concerns. Against that backdrop, asking the council to spend taxpayers’ money writing and posting thousands of letters to Wiltshire businesses feels like a questionable use of its time and resources.

The Environmental Case

There is a reasonable environmental argument behind the proposal. A five-litre container of ready-mixed screen wash can effectively involve transporting four litres of water, (at a kilo a litre) that consumers could add at home. Councillor Whitehead argues that concentrated products would cost buyers less and could reduce unnecessary lorry journeys and diesel use. Buying concentrate and mixing it at home therefore makes practical sense.

Whitehead says the promised letter has still not been sent. He was also disappointed that the motion was referred from full council to a select committee, which he felt prevented a wider debate. His central criticism is straightforward: an administration that promotes cycling, electric vehicles and climate protection should, he argues, be capable of taking this comparatively simple step.

What the Council Says

Wiltshire Council says it initially questioned whether approaching businesses would produce meaningful change, given its limited influence over what retailers choose to sell. Nic Thomas, the council’s director of planning, economy and climate, also noted that there is no single organisation representing all Wiltshire retailers through which the idea could be pursued.

The authority nevertheless says it intends to raise the issue at chamber of commerce and small-business events before following up with a letter to major retailers. It also acknowledges that it would have no practical way to monitor the impact of that approach.

Advice or Overreach?

The bigger question is not whether concentrated screen wash is sensible, but how much council time and public money this campaign deserves. A targeted letter and conversations with business groups are hardly the largest items in a council budget, yet the uncertain impact—and the council’s inability to measure it—make this a debatable priority when residents face more immediate pressures.

The dispute ultimately exposes a familiar gap between climate commitments and practical action. Whitehead can reasonably ask why a promised, relatively simple step has taken so long; the council can reasonably question how much difference it would make. Wiltshire’s politicians would serve residents best by resolving that question efficiently, then returning their focus to the local problems people encounter every day—potholes and weeds included.