THE short-sighted proposals to close youth centres in Dorset follow swiftly on the heels of cuts including the closure of children’s centres in Oxfordshire.

The latter were highlighted in the leaked letters exchanged between David Cameron and Oxfordshire County Council’s chief executive which briefly hit the headlines last week.

From these emerged the Prime Minister’s complete lack of understanding of the impact of the cuts his and his party’s ideologically driven austerity measures demand, even in his own back yard.

The National Audit Office has warned the government that it had only a "limited understanding" of the savings local authorities have to make.

Has it really such a limited understanding?

Possibly; government members live in a world miles away from those who suffer the cuts.

More likely it arises from the government’s relentless drive to dismantle the functions of the state.

Returning to the proposal to close our youth centres, does Mr Letwin have any better understanding of the impacts of his policies?

He is unlikely ever to feel the real pain and distress that they bring.

Perhaps he could arrange (as Mr Cameron offered to do for Oxfordshire County Council) for the leader of Dorset County Council to have special access to No 10 advisers for help in managing the cuts to services.

Perhaps this service could be offered to all local authorities. The demand might mean the penny would finally drop. Austerity is a political choice, not an economic necessity. It works only in favour of the well off and widens the divide between rich and poor.

HELEN STEPHENSON
East Street
Bridport