THE comments of LibDem leader Nick Clegg as reported by the Echo on Saturday were disappointing.

Mr Clegg said: ‘David Cameron is the conman of British politics. He’s put the con back into the Conservatives.’ That sort of ‘ya-boo’ language is a real turn off to the general public.

In the year since I was selected to be the Conservative candidate for Bournemouth West I have been conducting a survey of local people and thousands have replied to me. People are very worried about anti-social behaviour to the north of the town, the state of the economy, the support given to our troops in action, care for older people and numerous other things.

Above all they want politicians of all parties to raise the tone of debate and focus on finding solutions to the problems they confront in their lives.

The late Lord Denning once said that “two reasonable persons could perfectly reasonably come to opposite conclusions on the same set of facts without forfeiting their right to be regarded as reasonable.” He was right. Where we disagree we should do so politely and without personal abuse.

It’s about people, not politics. It is a shame that when local people want clear and positive policies for the future, Nick Clegg has chosen Bournemouth as a staging ground for negative party politics, which has no place here.

CONOR BURNS, prospective parliamentary candidate for Bournemouth West, West Cliff Road, Bournemouth