SINCE winning power in May, Mr Blair's government has shown a total contempt for Parliament.

Prime Minister's Question Time has been reduced to once a week instead of twice a week. Important policies are announced by Labour's spin doctors instead of through the House of Commons. And our MPs have just had one of their longest-ever holidays.

It is as if Mr Blair and his advisers do not want to bother with having to answer the Opposition MPs in defence of their policies. Does that sound familiar?

On the Blackburn with Darwen Council, as at Westminster, democracy is being suppressed. The ruling Labour group have chanced the rules so that councillors can no longer discuss spontaneously from the council minutes. According to Councillor Doherty that is not stifling democracy.

At the last council meeting, those questions that were allowed under the new rules were treated with total contempt by the elite junta who run the affairs for the Labour Party on the council.

The questions asked by the Opposition councillors went unanswered. Indeed Labour seemed offended that anyone should question their running of the council.

Indeed, I had the feeling that all they wanted to do was rush through the meeting and get off home with little or no debate.

The problem is that the Labour Party have been in power for so long in Blackburn and Darwen that arrogance has crept in and they think they can do anything they like.

One is forced to wonder if this stifling of democracy in Blackburn Town Hall is passed on from London by Labour's chief spin doctor Herr Peter Mandleson.

D PEARSON, Conservative Councillor, Rawstorne Street, Blackburn.

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