THE day before the snap election Prime Minister Theresa May was in Bolton and Oldham bragging that the Northern Powerhouse deal she had secured, totalling billions of pounds, would not only benefit the aforementioned towns but would secure the future of the whole of the north of England.

I smiled when I heard this because we have heard it so many times before.

It is known as the drip, drip syndrome. The parrot, Mrs May, is renowned for doing this.

Unsurprisingly it was then announced that the deal had been scrapped.

Unsurprisingly the money that was allocated for the deal is to be used to finance the second cross-rail project in the south east.

Once again they cancel a project in the north for a lack of funds but find the same amount to double up in London.

Now an expert in the field says Big Ben is being restored at a cost of £69 million when the Government estimated it would cost £29 million.

Instead of spending all that money restoring the bongs in Big Ben the Government should spend it on improving my beloved Tyldesley Bongs.

Frank Parkinson

Birch Street

Tyldesley