The list goes on

IT NOW seems as though a week doesn't pass by without another attack on our local services by the Conservative-run council.

The Mercury front page reported the latest hit list, and it's pretty much everything that local residents value. The Winter Gardens, The Playhouse, the museum, the Tourist Information Centre, all at risk from councillors who want to sell them off or close them down.

This, of course, follows hot on the heels of the closure of libraries in our villages, the axing of bus routes, the closure of public toilets and the collapse of the Tropicana project. The list goes on.

If this carries on I fear that we will see 'Welcome to Weston' replaced with another sign altogether: 'Closed - By Order of the Council'.

The premise behind these cutbacks is all wrong. Councillors seem to think that anything that costs money needs to go. But do parks make a profit? Do the pavements? Do our schools and hospitals? Of course not, but they are nonetheless important and valued services.

It is this 'something for nothing' mentality that has helped to get the global economy into a mess and it certainly won't help us build a stronger community. We elect councillors to listen to us and help to make things better.

Locals tell me that what we need to be rid of is not our valued and cherished services and facilities - it is councillors who are blatant in their disinterest in Weston and who believe that their job is to knock things down instead of build things up.

MIKE BELL

Liberal Democrat Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for Weston

George Street

Weston