Threat to debate

Councillor D Smith (Letters, September 23) may be correct in saying it is not Labour in Blackburn that is imposing a 'special cabinet' system on the council, but it is the Labour Party at Westminster's 'Draft Local Government (Organisation and Standards) Bill' that is behind the proposed restructuring.

Conservatives believe the new modern structures emanate from the perception that Labour local government has failed because Labour town halls have been mired in sleaze and, as Tony Blair cannot tackle the underlying causes, he is hell-bent on the crude and brutal unravelling of the whole structure of local government.

The latest White Paper envisages town halls run by executive mayors and backed by powerful cabinets, with no room for anyone else - no respect for the ordinary councillor, if not part of the ruling elite.

The traditional right of 'back-benchers' to question, challenge and influence debate could be lost for ever.

As councillors' status declines, so will links with constituents - so, when the public realises what is being pushed through under the banner of modernity, there will be a backlash. Meantime, Mr Burrows has made his contribution to the debate with his reference to "a bureaucratic system gone mad."

He is also right in saying "Blackburn has one of the highest council tax rates in the country" - contested by Councillor Smith, in the context of 'average bills,' which are irrelevant and conflict with the standard assessment for council tax throughout the country.

Average figures do not compare band-for-band, which is the only fair way for judgments to be made and the records show that Blackburn's tax at band 'D' is one of the highest in the land. The highest, overall, being Liverpool's £1,172, with the lowest starting at £350.

COUN J HIRST (Beardwood with Lammack Ward), Blackburn Conservative Association, Preston New Road, Blackburn.

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