THE highly-publicised proposed link-up between Blackburn with Darwen Council, Hyndburn Council and the Ribble Valley Council should be seen for what it really is -- nothing more than a smokescreen to prevent regional government and the local government review ever coming to fruition.

Too many local councillors see retaining the status quo as a preferred option and controversial proposals that generate argument between councils is an easy way of promoting a 'No' vote in a referendum for regional government.

If the vote on regional government fails, then the local government review becomes unnecessary.

What is it about the present system of government, central and local, that warrants such loyalty? The massive inequality of wealth between North and South continues unabated, with government impotent or unwilling to address the issue!

If you live in East Lancashire you can expect the lowest wage levels in the UK. Lifespan, on average, is shorter in the North of the UK than the South.

East Lancashire, despite all the government schemes, still has the worse housing problems. If that isn't enough, a recent survey reveals that the trains run slower and more inefficiently in the North West than anywhere else in the country.

What has been proved beyond doubt in Scotland and Wales is that regional government produces a form of government that is more confident and less deferential than the present system.

In England, government ministers rule local government with an iron hand and if closing old people's homes is the latest ministerial whim, then councillors obediently do it, or if a privatised under-resourced housing benefit system does not work in the capital, then palm it out to the regions -- "out of sight, out of mind."

There is a downside for councillors. The projections indicate far fewer councillors will be allowed than under the present system, which can only mean they have larger areas to represent.

This makes some of the objections understandable. But it is less than honest to put proposals forward, which everyone knows will get little or no support, without articulating the real reason.

COUN DON RISHTON, Wensley Fold Ward, Blackburn with Darwen Council.