THE announcement by the Liberal Democrats in Wyre Forest that they will not be contesting the forthcoming General Election is no great surprise.

They have been advertising for months on their website for a candidate to come forward - sadly to no avail.

They are the "has been party" in Wyre Forest, reduced to a runt of just four councillors on the district and only one county councillor. They could hold their meetings in the back of a local taxi.

Gone are the days when they had 18 district councillors, four county councillors and came second at the 1987 General Election, with an impressive 18,600 votes.

They received a mere 4,300 votes in 1997, equivalent to just eight per cent of the vote.

At the European elections in 1999 they achieved just 1,929 votes.

The biggest sufferers are the hundreds of Lib Dem voters, and their remaining councillors who have nowhere to go.

STEPHEN CLEE

Conservative county councillor

Hop Pole Lane

Bewdley