THERE has been more political mud-slinging in Darlington this week than pancake-tossing.

The community is continuing to come to terms with latest cuts which threaten the fabric of the town, including two libraries and the Victorian covered market.

The controlling Labour group on Darlington Borough Council naturally lays the blame firmly at the door of the Conservative Government which is intent on an austerity programme to balance the nation’s books.

Meanwhile, the council’s Conservative leader Heather Scott has responded by blaming the legacy of over-spending Labour governments and decades of mismanagement at the socialist-controlled local authority.

There is truth in both positions. Darlington is the victim of a public sector squeeze which has demonstrably been calculated to hit hardest in the north. Even Councillor Scott has acknowledged publicly that the funding settlement “does not appear to be very fair”.

But Councillor Scott is also right when she says that the town has suffered from a lack of vision and ambition going back decades. When public finances were far healthier than they are now, the town’s leaders have failed to capitalise on the town’s rich heritage.

Darlington’s claim to fame as the birthplace of the railways is a shameful missed opportunity and the Victorian covered market should have been seen as a jewel in the town’s retail offer, instead of being neglected.

There is blame on both sides but we are where we are. What’s important now is for the community – and politicians – to pull together to find a way of preserving what it has left.

It is unthinkable that historic buildings like Crown Street library and the covered market are boarded up like the arts centre.

The party political mud-slinging must make way for a united front to save Darlington’s market town heritage.