LIBERAL Kevin Connor claims that improving the gritting won't cost a fortune (Letters, February 25).

But the people of Darwen need to understand the hypocrisy of his and the Liberal's position on spending our money. Their hare-brained schemes, if ever implemented, would cost us dear.

They argue for "a structured system to achieve maximum services with minimum effort." They want, for example, to spend £60,000 on a referendum to ask us whether we went to spend an extra £820,000 on gritting all the roads in the borough. This massive undertaking would be supervised by the employment of 22 "community wardens," costing a further £880,000, which they have promised in their recent newsletters.

These modest increases in expenditure would be further boosted by the cost of establishing area committees to oversee all this and a 35 per cent increase in their minority party allowances.

The combination of this new spending is equivalent to the closing of two schools or a massive increase in Council Tax.

The one thing that can be said of the Liberals is they are consistent. Consistently crackers!

Their opposition to everything positive that has happened in Darwen is a case in point. Their leader was against the establishment of the popular Access Point; he opposed introducing environmentally-friendly wheeled bins, and the funding of the enormously popular Darwen Music Festival.

Let's hope that people remember this record when they exercise their democratic right in a couple of months' time.

Councillor WARREN LISHMAN (Labour, Marsh House Ward), Powell Street, Darwen.