COUN Nigel Ayre does his best to try and make out life’s ills are due to myself and my Labour colleagues in York – that we are choosing to cut services out of some form of spite (Letters, March 25).

He likes to try and make it look like there are no cuts to the council from a Tory-led Government the Liberal Democrats put into office, but there is one problem to this political narrative. It just isn’t true.

People in York are not going to give financial credibility to the Liberal Democrats when they spent £1.5m on the ill-fated purple ftr bus, wanted to spend £1.4m on a second new council office, opposed Labour reversing £1m of Lib Dem service cuts when coming to office and left the Barbican closed for eight years.

The highest increase in council tax Labour have asked residents in York to pay towards elderly care was less than the lowest council tax increase in the previous eight years of the Liberal Democrat council.

Arguing for an additional £570,000 of cuts in public services for the sake of 37p a week shows once again the Liberal Democrats are dancing to a Conservative tune and only Labour stands up for public services.

Coun James Alexander, Labour Leader of City of York Council.