CECELIA Costello is right to highlight the importance of voting.

In May the current coalition government will come to an end and the public have the chance to have their say. Over the past few years we have continually seen Government ministers from both the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats use the world banking crash of 2007 as an excuse to force through draconian cuts and wholesale changes to our society. Locally we have seen that since May 2010 this has included:-

•The closure of local libraries

•The loss of Bolton’s NHS walk-in-centre

•The closure of Remploy factories employing disabled workers

•Drastic cuts to benefits - severely disabled people waiting months for payments

•Disastrous “under occupancy” benefit changes or “Bedroom Tax”

•Government support for shale gas extraction or “Fracking”

• A huge shift to Academy and Free Schools with little or no accountability

• Increased outsourcing of social care services

In Bolton we are seeing over £140 million in council spending cuts which are being disproportionately targeted where there are already the highest levels of deprivation. Around the world people continue to fight for basic democratic rights and freedoms. Politics can make a difference. Look at the impact of the post war general election and a Labour landslide which paved the way for the birth of the NHS and the modern welfare state. Look at the recent impact of the Greek elections and an anti-austerity government led by a new political party Syriza.

We need an informed forward thinking debate about what kind of society we want to live in and what kind of a world we want to leave behind for our children and grandchildren.

Joan Pritchard-Jones

Deane