Ukip's lack of participation in council meetings is staggering

He says that the meeting which lasted four and half hours, is time he won’t get back. Tough! I sat in the public gallery and listened with great interest.

I have a message for Cllr Richardson and his Ukip colleagues – it’s your job to attend and take part in these meetings. The people of Little Lever and Darcy Lever, rightly or wrongly, elected you as one of their representatives, and they expect you to behave as one. Just because issues such as the forced academisation of all of our local schools and the real danger of fracking coming to Bolton bores you, that does not diminish your role.

You are elected by your constituents to represent their views, not to sit silent thought out a meeting that debated some of the major issues facing our borough, without offering an opinion. Part and parcel of being an elected representative is to speak at Council on the issues as you feel affect your constituents.

It was interesting that UKIP did not support the Tory motion calling for new leadership at Bolton Council, but it does not alter the fact that Ukip's lack of participation in council meetings is staggering. A view that is wholeheartedly backed up by Cllr Richardson’s letter.

In addition, this was the same meeting that Ukip ‘leader’ Sean Hornby made the amazing statement that the new library planned for Little Lever, after campaigns by Labour Cllr David Evans and former Labour Cllr Tony Connell, is not wanted or needed in Little Lever. Despite what Ukip say, Cllr David Evans will still work to deliver this new library.

In a previous letter , whilst trying to justify his summons to court for non-payment of council tax, Cllr Richardson made the announcement that he became a councillor for UKIP in order to pay off his debts. I quote the Bolton News article on the subject, Cllr Richardson said he was “looking over a financial cliff" before he became a Ukip Councillor, adding that a failure to become a councillor would have led to him seeking employment. He said his councillor allowance "allowed him to become more financially stable”. If this is the case, Cllr Richardson, then at least have the decency to accept that part of your role, whilst you are a councillor, is to sit through what you perceive as a boring meeting, but what others understand to be extremely important debates on issues that affect local residents.

Little Lever and Darcy Lever has three councillors, two are UKIP, and one – David Evans – is Labour. Local people have a real choice at the election in May.

John Richardson

Kearsley