THOSE who expressed outrage at the highly personal attack on our MP, Alun Michael (Say no to propaganda, Penarth Times letters, April 1) are quite right – and it’s interesting to note that Power2010 is hardly honest in claiming to be "independent".

It seems that money for this campaign comes from the single biggest donor to the Liberal Democrats, the Joseph Rowntree Reform Trust – not to be confused with the Joseph Rowntree Foundation which is genuinely independent.

Judging by the names on the websites, it seems that the person running the campaign is the same person that runs the Trust.

This is hardly what we normally mean by "independent", is it?

And if this approach to politics is what they mean by "reform", they must be speaking a different language to me.

Anyway, I can’t understand why they would choose Alun Michael as their target.

I heard one of their representatives say "you have to personalise an issue to get your message across".

That seems to suggest that this is a random attack – but that’s quite unacceptable because Mr Michael has dedicated his career to radical change, not just for this constituency but also Wales as a whole.

From talking to him, I know that a passion to give a future to unemployed young people is what took him into national politics.

As well as leading the fight to build the Cardiff Bay Barrage, he’s tackled issues like youth crime, economic development, bringing in the National Assembly for Wales, and making the internet a safer place for us all.

His recent campaigns include the battle to save the Rumney Playing Fields and only a few weeks ago getting a private Bill onto the statute book to allow people who wish to marry in churches in Wales the same rights as people in England.

This group don’t seem interested in such serious issues.

We do need reforming zeal in politics but that means the sort of long-term constructive approach we see in Mr Michael, not the unpleasant and irresponsible approach adopted by a group who seem to have more money than sense.

This sort of campaign is part of the problem in modern politics and definitely not the answer. Richard Boden Archer Road Penarth