[g jones]

I'm not bothered what John says. It's a free country and I'll defend his right to free speech.

One sad aspect is that I have had several desperate callers calling me about any tenancies I might have simply because they have read I have 'numerous' properties to let. (I don't - WE have two small terraced houses - one we live in).

Over the last 10 years significent parts of this town/borough have gone downhill. Woodnook, Lower Antley, St Huberts Road, Exchange Street. Yet amazingly the market doesn't work. Empty properties produce high rents. Thousands of people are desperate for affordable decent housing (sub £70pw). And all they find is Housing Associations with signs, ALL FULL UP (and charging £80pw+), a council waiting list that is 4 times the size it was 2 years ago (3000) and Rackman landlords, wrecking neighbourhoods and offering dreggs for top dollar.

Place an ad and see how many sad, desperate, vulnerable, genuine people turn up telling their own tale of a £90 a week rent for a damp squalid affair. Some stories are really distressing.

While landlords show no responsibility and in some cases deliberatly trash neighbourhoods to collect more property on the cheap (Woodnook esp), Hyndburn declines and the Tories sit back and tell of £120,000 affordable houses being provided by the private sector. The private rented sector is the twilight world of seedy private speculators and people whose hopes were lost a long time ago, and who have long given up on politicians as useless wannabee's.

Its hard to deal with the people who are contacting me for an affordable nice home now (and they ring with hope) when all I can say to them is, "there is nothing I can do, I don't have properties". I don't think John or Peter will ever understand outside of political opportunity the state of Hyndburn today. Let them attack me. Its a democracy and I believe most people are honest enough to see for themselves.