A SECOND town council has withdrawn its backing of a Bill to save community shops, post offices and services, blaming campaigners' treatment of Ruth Kelly.

Westhoughton Town Council has joined Blackrod Town Council in deciding against supporting campaigners behind the Sustainable Communities Bill, which would devolve more power to local councils.

Local Works, a coalition of 25 national organisations backing the bill, recently held a public meeting at the Reebok Stadium in a bid to win support. It was attended by more than 250 people.

Campaigners expressed their disappointment at Ms Kelly's failure to attend after offering her nine dates in October and November, then any date in January, February or March.

They displayed a poster pointing out that the Bolton-west MP and Local Government and Communities Secretary had effectively turned down 99 dates.

Westhoughton Town Council Labour leader Cllr Jim Gilfillan, said: "It was supposed to be a meeting to find out information about the bill but it turned into a Let's slag off Ruth Kelly meeting'.

"It's no use knocking someone who will make decisions about the Bill, otherwise you're probably fighting a losing battle from the beginning.

"We were quite happy with what we had seen of the bill and this is just really a reaction to the inappropriate way in which the whole thing was handled."

Blackrod Mayor and Labour town councillor Isabel Seddon, who spoke at the meeting, said: "I thought it was a disgrace and all a bit of a sham.

"They were extremely critical and personal about Ruth Kelly and I reported back to the town council on that. We are not supporting the bill. And we are a council of mixed political persuasions."

In a letter to Westhoughton Town Council, urging it to reconsider its decision, Local Works campaign co-ordinator Steve Shaw, said: "The campaign was very careful not to criticise Ruth Kelly. Our only comment was to express disappointment for her not attending, and then to praise her minister, Phil Woolas, for engaging with us in negotiations."

Only Horwich Town Council has passed a motion in support of the bill, which is now at committee stage in Parliament.

Ms Kelly cited ongoing negotiations between civil servants and the Bill's sponsors for her decision not to attend the meeting. She claims the Bill is "unworkable" and would not give town halls as much power as her Local Government White Paper. But she says her department is looking to see which parts of it can be adopted.