MAY I congratulate B Stuart (BEN, December 21) upon his/her very articulate comments regarding the present plans to form a non-elected nine-person cabinet.

I, and I am sure many other people, will agree that too much power in one place - especially a small group - is a potentially dangerous situation, and our present Council certainly seem to have given themselves carte blanche power to waste Council Taxpayers' money while ignoring essential services, ie insufficient grit bins and gritting of roads. Unless you live on a main road you risk life and limb emerging from your house. Roads and pavements remain broken up, and unrepaired. When questioned - not enough money. But - new computers to all council members and statues costing thousands of pounds. Financing these doesn't seem to be a problem.

Then there are Moss Bank Way and the Precinct (oops, I forgot, all that wasted money didn't come from Council Tax did it? Not even a few thousand).

I sincerely hope that the people of Bolton and the BEN, which is our only journalistic watchdog, will make their views known about the Cabinet idea, and ensure that there is more democracy in our town at the start of, and during the Millennium, and not closed-door decisions about which we have no say.

J Hayes (Address supplied)

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