Action, not rhetoric, needed by Lib-Dems

I feel I must be allowed to comment on what my MP, Gordon Birtwistle, has to say in Westminster Week, Friday 8th August.
The new Manchester Road railway station.The new Manchester Road railway station.
The new Manchester Road railway station.

He depicts a rather rosy view of life in Burnley without giving so much as a thought to the people who have had his policies inflicted on them.

He seems to think the opening of the new urgent care centre has transformed the prospects of our town. Well yes it’s new, but I think he is forgetting we already had an urgent care centre in the existing building. And let us not forget one striking thing. He called for the reinstatement of the A&E unit to BGH but not one single word did he utter about housing it in a brand new unit. Furthermore, he confirms this in his statements that he had got the £9m. grant, not for the building of a new A&E unit, but he directly states a new Urgent Care Centre.

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Let’s not forget he brazenly claimed the withdrawal of A&E from BGH signalled the death of a hospital in this town, but he isn’t claiming this now, is he?

I have mentioned this in letters before but his then best mate, Andrew Lansley, said in his announcement he was pleased to announce the primary care unit at Blackburn had secured the funding of the new urgent care centre at Burnley. Note no mention of Gordon Birtwistle.

I did, however, give him some credit for perhaps playing a part through lobbying his other best pal, Danny Alexander. Another bit in his article is about Manchester Road station, only I note how he is using two descriptives here. He firstly states this is just one of the (redevelopment) projects needed to transform the borough’s economic prospects. Now, in that he has a point.

However, what he fails to tell the public is that this was not his party’s plans. The plans submitted by the then Lib/Dem council were to regenerate the existing buildings. However, when the new council took control they decided to look at this again and it was found that to regenerate the buildings would be extremely expensive but demolishing the buildings and replacing them with a new build would be much cheaper.

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This is, in fact, what has been done and we can all see the outcome.

It’s unfortunate, but I anticipated the fact the Lib/Dems would attempt to take the credit for things that are not really down to them. They should learn it’s action, not rhetoric, which is needed. But the Lib/Dems certainly tell a good fairy story.

Mr K. Royle

Mizpah Street

Burnley

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