I WOULD like to thank the Chair of Smithills Ward Labour Party for his congratulations on my nomination to be Mayor from May. I will take his letter in the spirit in which it was meant, which was obviously to make a misleading party political point about Special Responsibility Allowances (SRAs).

Let me correct him on a number of points and add some information that he has conveniently omitted.

•I do not ‘claim’ an SRA of £2,883 a year – that is paid automatically because that is what the (Labour controlled) Council chooses to allocate to the person who holds the position of the Leader of the Liberal Democrat Group.

•Labour has decided to pay 23 of the 37 Labour Councillors (63% of their Group) an SRA at an annual cost of £162,313. That is really just a way to keep the Labour Group in line and backing the leadership.

•We have been calling for a review and reduction in the amount paid in SRAs for over four years, just as we have been calling for the number of Councillors to be cut to save around £300,000 a year.

•If and when such a review happens, I would expect my own SRA to be scrapped. Until a full review happens, I will continue to use the money to keep in touch with residents in my ward and seek their views.

I hope the Labour Party can be more honest in their reporting in future.

Roger G C Hayes

Leader

Liberal Democrat Group