READING several recent articles in the Echo, I am reminded that it is so much easier to be a politician in opposition than in power.

In opposition you don't need any policies, you don't have to try and work out how to balance a budget with an ever decreasing amount of support from government, you don't have to answer to the public for unpopular decisions and above all you are only accountable once every four years through the ballot box.

Whilst an important role of any opposition is to hold the party in power to account, I suggest that what we are seeing is no more than political point scoring. We have certain politicians who run to the press at every opportunity, telling us how badly the party in power are doing things, just for the sake of it.

Its almost as though there is a 'if we didn't think of it first it's wrong' mentality. All we get is criticism which is not backed by any constructive suggestions about how they would do things.

It just leaves me with the impression that whilst those parties in power often make a mess of things and the opposition might do things differently they would be just as bad. Sadly they won't admit it. What a choice we voters have.

R F COOPER

Laidlaw Close, Poole