IN THEIR panic now that Tory leader Michael Howard has written off his party's chances in northern cities, it would seem that the few remaining York Tories are trying to throw up a smokescreen to pretend that they have a chance in a city where they have no councillors.

At least in Hartlepool they have four, but that was described as "not natural territory for the Conservatives" by their spokesman on the night of their by-election disaster.

So York Tories would have you believe that I am a bogeyman by wanting to stop "people putting out their litter early" (Simon Mallet, Letters, October 14).

Well, I shall shock them and say that I am trying to enforce litter prevention on people creating litter late, early and even "on time"!

I am charmed that Simon Mallet has chosen to put pen to paper. He was a most interesting opponent two general elections ago,

But after having lost more than 10,000 votes for the Conservatives, I am glad to see that he realises that there are more productive things to do in York, and so I wish him luck in the legal world.

As for the future of the Tories in York, they still have the legacy of the closure of the carriageworks to overcome, together with bringing in the council tax, student loans, and attempting to destroy the NHS.

I don't think people have forgotten.

Andrew Waller,

Liberal Democrat prospective Parliamentary candidate,

City of York,

Askham Lane,

Acomb,

York.

Updated: 09:31 Tuesday, October 19, 2004