SIR. I would like to correct a misconception often given space in your letter columns by supporters of the Liberal Democrat administration, that Kingston Council's Conservative opposition do nothing to persuade the Government to improve the Government support grant - often quoted by administration leaders as the reason that we pay the highest council tax in London.

We get a poor deal from the Government and I wrote to the secretary of state at the beginning of the summer complaining about the poor return for Kingston and received a reply from the Minister for Local Government, John Healey MP at the end of August. The letter basically said that the Government takes money from us and then spends it in areas where it perceives more deprivation such as urban town centres - ie in Mr Brown's Scotland and Mr Blair's north-east of England. We are also contributing in some style for the regeneration of city centres in Manchester such as Salford Quays.

The Conservative Party in Kingston is totally against these projects being funded by the ratepayers of Kingston.

The problem in Kingston is that the Lib Dem administration does not know how to manage the budget it has at its disposal.

Councillor Howard Jones Conservative group leader Kingston Council