LIBERAL Democrat Coun John McGowan, of Clitheroe (Letters, March 14) illustrates why his party are known to most people as the 'wishy-washy' - full of bright ideas, but most of them impractical and ruinous to businesses.

He calls Labour 'Blair's Tory government in waiting," but should be aware that no opposition party could quite capture the unreality of John Major's rump of a government, no matter how hard it tried.

As for slagging off Jack Cunningham as a 'glow in the dark' politician on nuclear power, Coun McGowan's party, with its pale representatives, would be hard-put to 'glow' unless it was in bright pink, as John Blunt made clear in his description of Lib-Dem capabilities. When the Liberal Democrats' transport and environment policies are examined properly, we find most of them aren't fit to be bus conductors, let alone train guards as, by discouraging road use, they would just be allowing more people to become unemployed. But, then, common sense isn't one of their strong points, is it?

DUNCAN McVEE, Robin Bank Road, Darwen.

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