CLLR Cliff Morris says that Labour will not commit Bolton to congestion charges until we have public transport people want to use.

But, surely, if we had public transport people wanted to use then congestion would not be a problem.

I feel sure that most people would gladly use public transport in preference to sitting in traffic jams, especially at peak times, if it was cheap, regular and reliable.

As I see it, the long-term plan should be to nationalise the railways and the buses and streamline the lot. But where would we find the money for such a radical plan?

Maybe we could start by bringing our troops home from Iraq and Afghanistan and use the billions set aside to upgrade our nuclear deterrent.

We could also use the money that is currently subsidising the greedy private rail and bus companies, boosting their profits and shareholders' dividends.

The Blair Government wasted a decade. Now councils all over the country should be insisting that the Brown Government does something about public transport.

Brian Derbyshire Ribchester Grove Bolton