COUNCILLOR Bob Clark's phobian letter (Citizen: May 20) citing my response to enquiries from your editorial team lacks definition although I respect it was well intended.

My ' in-depth' discussions with Social Services, residents of the homes and their immediate families revealed considerable distress on those being displaced. The county council will argue that full consultation procedures were effected at all times - this aspect is not in dispute - what is controversial is the outcome. There is no dispute either that the county council, Labour-controlled Social Services Committee had to respond to the government's programme of social reform which necessitated the implementation of the steps put in place by the county council. There are fundamental structural aspects of the county council's current policy which are flawed but these will emerge in the course of time. As we have seen in the past week or so the New Labour Government has suffered a massive rebellion within its ranks at Westminster but nothing like the rebellious attitude of the rank and file members throughout the country which in turn is minuscule compared to the demonstration of revulsion by the massive membership of the trade union movement, the General secretary of which wrote to the Prime Minister in April to expostulate the disdain of the TUC. In his letter to Tony Blair, John Monks stressed: "The European Federation for the elderly and retired would like to suggest that the universal provision of adequate resources for pensioners is a mark of a humane society." The true facts are, like the Tories, New Labour is not listening to the people and its promise of open government is in tatters together with the Social Reform legislation proposals. Unlike New Labour, the TUC will not turn its back on the elderly and the vulnerable in our society, on the contrary, TUC members throughout the United Kingdom will fight to support a just and humane social programme for those who have given their lives to the prosperity of Britain.

Richard Grave Pensioners' European Confederation

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