IT is ridiculous and hypocritical of the Labour Leader Cllr Cliff Morris to criticise the Liberal Democrats for not spending more money on Bolton's crumbling roads.

Furthermore, for him to suggest that they would have put more money into roads is unbelievable (March 21).

The only reason the roads are in such an appalling state is simply because Labour failed to do anything about them when they were in power for more than 20 years.

Apart from the state of the roads, the legacy that the Labour council has left the people of Bolton is the continued decline of the town centre, caused by their failure to attract inward investment; a proliferation of pubs and bars, which has turned the town into a drunken paradise where no respectable, mature adult can spend a quiet night out; boarded-up shops; numerous fast food outlets; two derelict cinemas; a declining Ashburner Street market, etc. Even the historic Barclays Bank building on Deansgate has been turned into a betting shop.

The proposals for the Market Hall, which was in need of refurbishment, will mean that the few remaining shareholders will soon be forced out by increasing rents. So while the building will be preserved, it will cease to be a market.

Despite all the money which seems to have been wasted on consultants, the Labour Council did not seem to have any overall plan for the development of the town centre.

From time to time, they announced elaborate schemes which were quickly forgotten, and were apparently just pipe dreams. Whatever happened to all our council tax?

(Name and address supplied)