You should know

It puts me much in mind of earlier "spin doctor" letters orchestrated by members of the Labour Group, pretending to be from disinterested members of the public but actually from friends and supporters. There was a clumsy series from Wigan and former colleagues, girl friends and employees of members of the Lancaster Labour Group have written in, attacking critics but none of them identifying their real motivation. Perhaps Roper is another such?

It is true that there are many beautiful walks around Silverdale but Roper's reference to the "galleries" gives the game away. There are no galleries. There is a gallery, and it's a shop. Just the sort of silly mistake likely to be made by somebody, with no real knowledge of the subject, writing at someone else's behest. As it happens, I am at present unable to enjoy scenery, but I used to walk a lot and it was while tramping round the peaceful countryside that I was able to reflect on the appalling record of the Lancaster City Council, in particular some of its officers and some of its councillors.

But where Roper is badly wrong, not to say insulting, is to assume that I am irrational enough to hate individuals whom I have never met or even spoken to. Perhaps it is beyond Roper's comprehension to understand that ordinary citizens can be offended by lies and misconduct on the part of people in public office. I spent 30 years defending democracy and I took my job seriously. I was horrified when I returned to my native county and found abuses of democracy pervading the local council. What Roper would call hatred is, in fact, indignation.

What I really don't understand is why Roper isn't equally indignant if he or she is such a keen and regular student of Lancaster affairs. The catalogue of horrors is so disturbing that no-one should be able to contemplate it without demanding justice for the robbed and cheated ratepayers of Lancaster District. Just a few examples: a million was squandered on AfriCar - a venture so flaky that not one local bank would touch it; would-be investors in a new Morecambe Pier were sent a video of "Storms in Morecambe Bay" which helped discourage them; the old Empire Theatre site was sold to contractors without public tender; a million quid put together for the phase one restoration of the Winter Gardens was channelled to the same contractors without public tender; the developers of Freeport, who came to Morecambe before they went to Fleetwood, were sent away on the amazing grounds that too many visitors would be attracted; a million was spent on consultants during the Salt Ayre Swimming Pool construction with no public tender action and over a million was thrown away by bad management; two million was simply poured down the drain during Crinkley Bottom. And so on and on and on. Just think what the district would have been like if the wasted millions had been properly spent, if the pier had been rebuilt, if Blobby had been successful, if Freeport had come to Morecambe. No, no, Roper old thing, you may be toeing the party line but, if you have even the slightest vestige of a conscience, it ought to be pricking. You're defending the indefensible.

Mike Ford

Silverdale

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.