Well the Con/Dems are really living up to their name – at least the ‘Con’ part (‘Thousands of empty homes left empty, LT, November 28).

Councillor Roy Davies is once again complaining that 200 empty houses in his ward need renovating and wants to use the young unemployed to do the work.

I have previously gone through the mathematics of the cost of just purchasing those houses with Coun Davies – it’s £14million, plus the cost of materials and a joiner, plumber and electrician to supervise their work.

That equates to 200x £24,000 which equals £4.8million. The total makes £18.8million.

This time I will try a different tack: we had a scheme for doing just what you ask, it was called Housing Renewal, something that was very successful in Harwood Street in Darwen.

But I’m informed that you didn’t want that in Sudell; the money for that came from the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, who just happens to now be Nick Clegg, and he is the leader of the Lib/Dems.

So it appears to me that you don’t have to be Einstein to figure out where the answer lies.

Just tell your leader to give some of the £40million back to this council that he and Pickles and the other millionaires of this coalition have taken.

Then you may well achieve your heartfelt wish.

But don’t cry crocodile tears – it just won’t wash.

Coun Brian Taylor, Blackburn with Darwen Council.