IT must be local election time – the local Labour tribe have just knocked at my door, the first time I've seen any of them since the last election.

An earnest activist tried hard to convince me that voting Labour was the best solution for the town.

Over the past few years, I have watched with horror the destruction that Labour has inflicted on my beloved home town – everything from closing the Arts Centre to moving the library, the annihilation of the town centre and presiding over filth and rubbish around every corner.

This is the first time I have felt compelled to write, but surely the local Labour Party and the MP – she rarely speaks out on important issues such as the Arriva bus strike – cannot expect the electorate to sit back and accept such poor quality representation.

Darlington deserves much better.

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