READERS need to be aware of the threat to democratically accountable local government services in Britain, resulting from government underfunding and privatisation measures.

In town halls up and down the country, councils are wrestling with inadequate budgets and are being encouraged to privatise services by the Government.

Ironically, this means that Labour authorities with massive majorities, acting under a New Labour government with the biggest parliamentary majority since 1945, are about to destroy more public services than the Tories did.

In the North West, councils like Salford are poised to cut £9 million from social services alone and Blackburn is discussing a 'partnership' privatisation arrangement for a number of council departments.

In April, the misnamed 'Best Value' policy will start, forcing councils into privatisation measures for many more services.

Privatisation has already given us unsafe, unreliable, yet expensive, trains; chaos at the Passport Agency and massive profits at the public's expense for fat cat company directors.

This is no model for local government in Britain, and neither is the prospect of councils in hock to multi-national companies for their services, lack of democratic accountability to the electorate, and the possibility of corrupt practices which will arise when small numbers of people control multi million pound contracts.

ROGER BANNISTER, UNISON National Executive Council member (personal capacity), Admin Road, Kirkby, Merseyside.

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