COUNCILLOR Dave Smith (Letters, May 22) is quite right about me living on a fantasy island. Along with many other inhabitants of this fantasy island of Blackburn with Darwen, we have come to realise that we are ruled by a fantasy cabinet who would have brought in an undemocratic cartel.

Even he knows that many of his own ruling party were not in full agreement with the way this was brought about.

I hope that he and his committee are not resting on their laurels in stating that we have the third-lowest average bills in Lancashire.

Because the council decided to become a unitary authority, this triggered off a massive increase in councillors' expenses, plus free newspapers, mobile phones and lap-top computers.

An independent body may have set these expenses, but the council knew that unitary status would trigger off these increases.

It is hardly worth answering his remark that "if the expenses were so high, why did only an average of 2.66 per cent candidates per ward stand." He knows full well that the same person or one chosen by the party stands for the council. This applies to all parties.

Party politics is the sickness that rules in local government.

B WHITE (Mr), Risedale Grove, Blackburn.