The Prospective Parliamentary candidate (31/08/00) should check his facts before firing off false and inaccurate statements to you about my response to the proposed care homes closures. Contrary to what he said, I have met with relatives, staff and residents at homes in my constituency, have taken up their detailed questions and concerns with the Director of Social Services and in a meeting with the CARE action group, and expressed my concerns about the original proposals and the consultation process to the council and in the media - not least in The Citizen (which presumably the Conservative candidate does not read or else he would have seen all this reported).

I suspect his lack of local knowledge and experience are not helping him in this matter. The care homes issue is indeed a serious and stressful one for those affected. They are not helped by cheap fly-by-night attempts to exploit it for party political purposes from a Conservative party who up and down the land sought to close council care homes when they had that opportunity.

Gordon Marsden,

MP Blackpool South