152 COUNCILS will be holding local elections in May, including Stourbridge and all of us will have the opportunity to vote wisely for a local councillor who will truly represent us and understand our circumstances.

When I first voted in the 1950s, my mother echoed the sentiments of most working class people when she gave me the following advice. “Remember when you vote, that Labour are for the poor and the Tories are for the rich.”

In those days it seemed to be an almost universal perception.

Fifty-five years later that same philosophy is just as strong, and maybe my mother’s advice has spanned the ages.

The coalition government continue to perpetuate that philosophy, and do little to convince the voters of this country that they really understand, or care about, the average working class family.

Their time in office has already offered a startling insight into the minds of some national politicians who will never have to struggle each week to make ends meet.

As local elections approach it is inevitable that the voting public will be influenced by what they see happening at national level and in some respects I feel sorry for good councillors who have to toe the party line and defend some indefensible national political decisions.

I think that if my mother were still here she would be saying, “I told you so, didn’t I?”

We are very fortunate in the borough to have some good local councillors who represent the people in the various wards.

May we choose wisely in the coming elections?

Raymond Leighton Wollescote