LIB Dem councillors are giving plenty of notice and have made it quite clear that we are likely to face large Council Tax rises or cuts in services throughout Bolton next year.

Well, I must say that's very decent of them.

However, it might have been worth Bolton's Lib Dem councillors listening to Steven Arnfield, Director of Finances, when, in February, he expressed concerns at the raiding of £1.4m of emergency funds, and the setting up of an artificially-low council tax rise of 3.9 per cent by Labour, just prior to the 2004 local elections, an artificially-low tax rise which Lib Dem councillors supported.

In fact, I do seem to recall Cllr Barbara Ronson, the new leader of Bolton Council, describing the tax rise as "blooming low".

I did feel at the time that by entering into this piece of blatant electioneering, Labour might be shooting itself in the foot. It now looks as though, by means of poetic irony, the bullet has ricocheted up from the ground and hit the Liberal Democrats in the lower groin.

Anthony Backhouse

Boston Street

Bolton