SIR. I fully endorse Councillor Howard Jones' comments, "Funding Gripe" ( Letters 14th November 2007 ), relating to the continual pilfering of taxpayers' pockets to fund so-called areas of deprivation - ie constituences where this Government has the majority of its MPs.

This overt abuse of power is exacerbated by the ineptitude of our Lib Dem administration, as Coun Jones has correctly identified.

Increasingly in latter years, the Comet has carried articles and letters highlighting many examples of Lib Dem profligacy and incompetence.

Take the latest £500,000 refund to Hammerson. The claim of ignorance of EU Law by Coun Simon James underlines how unqualified to govern he and his colleagues are. The simple fact is that all local authorities have been obliged to put out to tender any major contract for at least the past 10 years!

So one more fiasco, on top of: q Well over the £2million tarting up New Malden High Street, only to see stupid, dangerous cobblestones removed, carriageway surfaces cracking up and increased pollution due to the traffic bottleneck caused by the removal of the former bus bays,

  • Millions of pounds pumped into a white elephant called The Rose
  • Thousands more frivolously thrown at a useless "water feature" in the centre of Market Place.

And yet, simultaneously, this abject administration is attempting to claw back costs by:

  • Closing day centres
  • Frequently allowing public toilets to remain closed Chris Hall
    Cavendish Road,
    New Malden