THE LOGIC of public finance still confuses me – even though I was involved with it at council budget meetings. WAG, charities and quango financing . Newport Council is struggling to make cuts, with the possibility the museum and art gallery and the central library may go. Is Labour into more privatising?

Let’s be honest, this is one of the few remaining facilities to attract people to town. A city without a central library and museum! I can’t imagine this and I hope Bob Bright and his Labour politicos come to their senses. It is the arts and culture projects that need support in Newport, not cutting them. In fact, more should be built, like a maritime and industrial museum which the city deserves for its unique history.

Surely the council took this into consideration when mooting the Friars Walk development?

On the same page, Dame Rosemary Butler AM is talking to a committee about how WAG should have the same powers as Scotland and more AMs are needed urgently. I can’t say that WAG have been great so far except for money-guzzling, but more AMs? Wales is already over-governed and rather than increasing, they should be radically reduced.

Dame Rosemary is standing down at the next Assembly elections and as the promotion of arts and culture in Newport is close to her heart, I hope she will be considering investing some of her generous retirement settlement to the survival of arts and culture in what could become a cultural desert.

Jim Dyer, Stockton Road, Newport