THE recent explanatory letters from Cllrs Barker and Bryning do not impress. They are merely playing the old 'party politics' card and the action of the Labour group on Lancaster City Council re-affirms the negative role of party politics in local government. Why didn't the Labour group take up their allotted seats on the newly-formed cabinet? Surely they would best serve the community as a whole and in particular their supporters, by presenting their dynamic, positive and beneficial policies through cabinet and council? Surely they have the confidence in their policies to present them and gain support of other members of the cabinet (if not all) to enable Labour to influence the direction taken by the council.

Surely the didn't expect the rest of the council to be duped into accepting the move to debar groups with cabinet members (every one but Labour) from chairing all review boards to enable Labour to simply oppose?

The recent report by the local government improvement review team called for "a commitment to working together, particularly at leadership level. The political parties, the leadership, the entire organisation must work as a team, in the interest of the long term future of the organisation and the area. In the current political situation some degree of cross-party consensus on priorities is needed and modus operandi between the parties so that this can be communicated and direct the organisation."

Perhaps the Labour group leader chose to contemptuously ignore these observations also.

It makes me want to stamp my foot and make me scream and scream and scream!

Cllr Paul Woodruff

Free Independent

Halton-with-Aughton