MANY people would link the success of our Olympic squad to John Major's policy of awarding lottery cash to projects which would promote British sporting achievement on a sport-for-all basis.

Indeed, I believe in 1996 the Press reported Tory MP John Greenway's support for Malton School's projected bid for public financial investment in a school sports hall which would be accessible to the public.

Sadly, since 1997 the goalposts have moved. Instead of using the greater amount of lottery cash for sport, the Government has diverted much of it to projects that would previously have been paid for out of taxes, and the lottery sports budget is much smaller than under Mr Major.

The Tory opposition, on the other hand, now resorts to winning by opportunism the power they cannot win by responsible and reasoned argument. So instead of supporting the school's projects as Mr Greenway did in 1996, in the 1999 local elections Ryedale Conservatives opposed spending £30,000 out of the council's total reserves of more than £7m on a study and lottery bid, on the grounds that this was a supreme example of LibDem extravagance.

Ryedale Conservatives cancelled the feasibility study after £25,000 had been spent on it (so now there is nothing to show for it) and then, after spending another £15,000 on a 'sports strategy' prepared by another consultant, they refused to accept that consultant's advice which was: "The principal indoor sports facility need in the district is a community sports hall in the Malton/Norton catchment area."

John Greenway MP is a Tory front bench spokesman on sport. It is time to hear from him what he thinks of the decision of Ryedale Conservatives. Does he support the sports hall project, or has he changed his mind?

Paul Andrews,

Secretary, Ryedale Liberal Democrats,

The Beeches, Great Habton,

York.