THE Labour Government consider they are the party of the countryside and are attempting in the run-up to the election to reinforce this by stating what they think they have achieved. Frankly, that is not much in the rural areas of the West Country and could be put on the back of a postage stamp. Okehampton is an expanding town but we are losing our services at a fast rate of knots with a declining police presence, an instance of which was the 40 minutes it took for attendance when a lorry turned over outside the police station. The provision of ambulance cover is going to cease through the night. Doctors will be withdrawn and a service provided from Exeter or Tiverton if you fall ill also at night. This will mean a delay of around an hour before any help is available and possibly a further similar period if an ambulance is needed to transfer the patient to a hospital. It now only needs Devon Fire and Rescue to make a similar move because of budgeting restraints and we will be in a fine mess. Yes, supporters of the Government will respond to this argument that these are all managed from locally administered and managed funds, but that ignores completely the fact that it is Whitehall and the Treasury that have routinely cut back on the provision of sufficient monies through rate support mechanisms preferring to transfer copious quantities of our entitlement to Labour heartlands. Derek Godfrey-Brown Larkbeare Okehampton
