IMAGINE if a member of your family turned up with, say, a new laptop computer from a big High Street chain store proudly claiming that he or she got “a real bargain” at £600, only for another family member to say, “I’ve seen exactly the same model on sale for £300 from a small, local business”. Yet, this is exactly the kind of purchasing madness that has been going on for the last 10 years or so in Central Government, unchecked, because there wasn’t the will to address waste when there was political advantage to be gained from spending.

As a local council taxpayer, I am genuinely concerned, therefore, about what we can now expect from a Labour controlled Bury Council “let loose” on our precious funds.

So I challenge you, Mr Connolly, to do your job as a councillor and “represent the views of this local person and direct council policy accordingly” (to quote your electoral mandate as a councillor). Start by following the lead shown by Central Government and organising purchasing centrally — one price for all users — perhaps even by sharing control with neighbouring councils in Manchester; then back this up with aiming, like Government, to allow as many innovative and efficient Small and Medium Enterprises in the local community to bid for supply contracts, to help grow our economy!

I hope readers will join me in checking Mr Connolly’s progress?

Derek Brooks Tottington