SIR - It is nothing short of disastrous that the inept leadership of the Labour opposition in the Guildhall is not shouting from the roof-tops that the Tories' ambitions for its privatised "outsourcing" of services on which we all depend are utterly impractical and doomed to expensive failure.

It simply is not possible to save money and deliver the same level of service, while at the same time taking on the additional large "cost" of shareholders' dividends. It can, of course, be attempted, but only by reducing the pay and conditions of the workforce and collapsing the service. In short, these are the economics of the madhouse and the morality of the bankers' casino. Economies of scale, for instance, take us only so far; and there are always serious dis-economies created. The sums cannot be made to add up.

I despair.

David Barlow

Worcester