It did not take long for all the prospective candidates to start complaining about biased views, supposed inaccuracies and generally castigating the other party, did it? (Your Views, April 14).

It happens before every election. Like birds of paradise, they come out displaying and preening to attract your vote.

I don't know about you but I am tired of the political parties saying one thing yet doing another, and generally preserving the state of affairs so that the council does not appear to get any better but costs more and more each year.

It also seems that the only time the people get no increase in council tax is when an election is due.

Westhoughton, in particular, gets a wholly unfair share of the proposed development for Bolton, which causes a loss of green spaces, huge traffic jams and a massive strain on the services and infrastructure .

Bolton Council has a problem servicing Westhoughton which is not right. We pay a high price and should expect a high level of service.

Since I often write to The Bolton News complaining about these issues, I thought I had better put up or shut up. So, I am standing in the Westhoughton South ward as an Independent candidate.

The aim is to put the thought back into the running of Westhoughton, to root out council inefficiency which costs us dearly, to fight for more services from Bolton Council and to ensure development is fair and required so that we can maintain our environment and quality of life.

Independence means not following a party line, so it is a vote for Westhoughton and for common sense, not a political party.

To my mind, it is a shame that there is only one independent candidate at this year's local election. Maybe next time the voters of Bolton will have more independent choice.

Ainslie Casson MA Independent candidate for Westhoughton South