Ben Jeffreys, the Conservative Parliamentary Candidate for the Cheadle Constituency in Stockport must be delighted that the Liberal Democrats are recognizing his popularity with the electorate. They have put the Constituency, currently held by the Liberal Democrats, in their highest risk of losing category. This disclosure is on page 15 of a 44 page research document on the Libvision website, entitled 'The Cameron Effect'.

The national leadership of David Cameron which is now being recognized by all age groups throughout the country, coupled with the presence of local schoolteacher and rugby coach Ben Jeffreys, plus the fact that the Conservatives polled more votes than any other Party in the Cheadle Constituency in the last local elections, has obviously put the wind up the left wing Liberal Democrats.

Remember, when the time comes, only the Conservatives can beat Gordon Brown's Labour: the Liberal Democrats have no chance of forming the next government.

The inexcusable way the service cutting Liberal Democrats squander taxpayers' money, and how this can affect vital services for the vulnerable and elderly, was graphically highlighted in the Stockport Express/Times last week.

The front page reported that the Council had so far failed to collect council tax totalling £5.5 million. Inside, there was a report on how elderly and infirm people in Stockport will now have to pay for a monitoring and response service, previously free, which reacts to sensors installed in homes, triggering an alarm when gas leaks, floods or extreme heat are detected.

The new charges, we are told, would earn the Council just over £56,000. If just a fraction of the uncollected council tax had been collected in time, the Council could have afforded to fund this service. Despite protestations by the ruling group the fact remains that in comparative year-on-year figures the Council Tax collected by this time in the cycle is considerably less than in previous years.

To residents who are paying more when they go to the shops, and more when they pay their gas and electricity bills, it will look like another example of how a wasteful Council is prepared to put a further financial burden on those who can least afford it.

Congratulations to our athletes at both the Olympics and Paralympics held in Beijing. However, always to the fore in my mind at any mention of the Far East, is the gruesome animal cruelty there. No adjectives can adequately describe the horror.

Cllr Linda Holt
Bramhall North

This article, by Cllr Linda Holt, was first published by the Stockport Express 24/ 09/ 08.