Once again, it looks like local councils, including York, will bear the brunt of the cuts that the Con-Lib coalition is making in public services.

More than 20 per cent of the £6.5bn spending cuts announced this week will come from local government programmes, like education, transport and so on.

Taken together with a Government-imposed freeze on council tax, it means that front-line services will suffer, regardless of what ministers claim. The town hall, which has a far better efficiency record than Whitehall, is having to carry the can for a Government which is hell-bent on making cuts – despite many economists warning that cutting too soon will risk plunging the economy into recession again.

But, handily, it will be the local council getting the blame, not those sitting on the government benches in Westminster.

I heard the Lib-Dem Business Secretary, Vince Cable, whose sainted reputation is based on forecasting the banking crisis, say that the cuts were needed now to avoid credit agencies downgrading the UK.

Aren’t these the same credit agencies that gave the banks the thumbs-up when they were running up crazy debts?

So why is Vince taking their advice now?

Patrick Kelly, East Mount Road, York.