THE Conservative Party have stated again that they will seek to improve Britain's public services, while also aiming to reduce wasteful spending and high tax levies.

These twin aims can run in parallel, and satisfy the party's long-standing commitment to handle public finances in a more responsible way. It is our aim to reform public services in order to improve them, while cutting waste in both central and local government. That is why the Conservative Party is naturally a lower tax, lower regulation party than New Labour.

Tony Blair's promise to approach his responsibility for the public purse in a disciplined and responsible way seems now to have been abandoned. This Government regards higher spending as its right.

The Conservatives, along with the majority of the British people, believe that the Government has no moral entitlement to other people's money. But where the Government does take people's money in taxation, it bears a responsibility to spend it carefully. This instinct is being applied in practice by Conservative local authorities all over the country.

New Labour continue to remorselessly carry on raising extra cash through taxation with no improvement in public services. They are spending vastly more money on our public services, yet the impact of the spending on our public services, such as health, education and transport, is very limited.

Bolton Council continues to employ more staff than any other council of a similar size and make-up. The electorate of Bolton were given a pledge by local Conservatives at the last local election in May 2002 that we would freeze all vacant positions within the council to establish if those positions are still required and, if not, dis-establish them, diverting thousands of pounds to other under-funded services. This is responsible local government, and this is what the Conservatives will do, freeing up more of your council tax to fund services that you want to see funded as a priority.

Andy Morgan

(Councillor Hulton

Park Ward)