6 DAVID Bannister, writing to you on December 11, is perhaps a little previous in proclaiming that the Labour Party is the champion of the countryside.

The recent White Paper, with which he is so happy, didn't actually make it into the Queen's Speech. The only "Countryside" issue is the Bill on hunting, which surely is not the big boost farmers need.

When Labour came to power more than three years ago, they quietly asked Liberal Democrat spokesmen to give them some ideas about country needs, as so many of our 46, now 47 MPs, have rural constituencies.

They were rather hard of hearing, as we have had to bombard then with petitions on post office closures, rural transport, and agricultural policy reform for more than three years to obtain a promise of some action if they are re-elected next spring.

I agree that the Tories are not the friends of the Green Belt. The current Labour/LibDem administration at County Hall favours the development of a "silicone corridor" linking the hi-tech business for Birmingham and Malvern, provided that we make use of existing buildings and brownfield sites only.

But Labour's love of the countryside does not get as far as Worcestershire. The miserable 2.7 per cent increase they have given us means a stark choice between higher council taxes or reduced services.

ROBERT BROWNE,

Lib Dem Parliamentary Prospective Candidate for Mid-Worcestershire.