WHAT is it about the council when it comes to public relations? If there's a banana skin within 10 miles there's a rush to see who can step on it first. The next slip up could well be the Single Regeneration Budget. A committee is being formed to oversee the spending of £5million to upgrade derelict land, most of it in Castle ward. Amazingly some local councillors have been barred from sitting on it. It's proposed that representation include two independents, who don't represent any wards in Lancaster, and one Labour who have no representation at all in the Castle ward.

A consultative process, which began with a bang earlier this year, has fizzled out and if this committee is formed as proposed people who live there will have no voice in what happens to their neighbourhood.

Now money is on the table councillors have suffered a rush of blood and started to play their old power games again. If this is an attempt to sidestep democratically elected councillors - it's shoddy. If it's an oversight it's unprofessional and possibly unconstitutional. Independents should be concentrating on their own voters' interests and although this scheme was introduced during the last administration, Labour should decline and accept that the new representatives are better qualified to sit. We know Labour suffered a defeat in Castle ward but there's no reason to be churlish about it.

If it's an attempt to stage a comeback in their old stronghold it's transparent. People were so disappointed when Labour held power that they wanted somebody who was a bit shorter in the tooth and a bit longer in integrity.

The joke is that the council still can't see that Joe Public has the savvy to put two and two together and see that self interest and petty wrangling always prevails here over satisfying those who pay their salaries and expenses and keep them in work.

Elected representatives should represent. Blow away the old politicking which gives the council such a bad name and get back to straight dealing. Oh, and by the way, can we have a council leader? Whoever heard of an effective council (or business for that matter) get by with a headless administration?

Fred Webster,

Vicarage Terrace,

Lancaster.

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