I would like through your columns to express, as a defeated (Tory) candidate in the district elections, my congratulations to the Liberal Democrats, firstly on their elevation to power on Malvern Hills District Council, and secondly in doing so, to demonstrate to the rest of us that the "Greens" are in fact their wholly owned subsidiary party.

As is usual in local or national elections, the Conservatives hand over an authority in better financial shape than they themselves succeeded to.

There is no theoretical reason why this is usually the case, except that Liberals and Socialists (and, pray, what is the difference, when there are websites devoted to the twinning of Labour and Liberal Democrat voters in different constituencies?), being puffed up with righteous goodwill towards every sort of perceived deserving case, tend to be too generous with visions of the bright future and taxpayers' money to avoid the prat-falls of the cold light of dawn.

It will be interesting to see what the Lib Dems come up with in terms of practical policies.

There is, for example, the new surgery site question when the professionals want one thing (shining new temples to their art) and the bulk of the voters want another (not to have to travel to Townsend Way).

There is also the district council conundrum of consolidating into one new building on the old depot site, about which they have created an alarmist unfocused fuss without of course stating clearly whether they are for it or agin it.

Thirdly, there is the million quid from the Government via Worcestershire for buses.

The current Malvern bus route map already resembles the impossibly tangled ball of wool a kitten has been playing with, while more and more buses seem to chug around with ever fewer passengers polluting ever more villages. I shall be pleasantly surprised if the Liberals can rationalise the routes so that the buses actually go where people want, without taking them on mystery tours via four or five places they don't want.

The probability is, as in the past, the issues will be ducked amid the cry "We need another consultation document!" and nothing will happen - apart from thousands more of our cash spent on "consultants", i.e. early-pensioned ex-public servants who never personally have had to stick their own money where their mouths are.

C R Cheeseman, Wells Road, Malvern.