ANOTHER day and another letter from all the misguided lefties in Wales blaming the savage Tory cuts for cuts in public services.

In 1999, council tax for a band D property in Newport was £389. Taking account of inflation, this would now stand at £598, but people in Newport find themselves with bills of £1,096 with no noticeable improvement in our local services.

Under old Labour, the cry went out to local councils to spend as much as you want and just jack up the council tax. Can you name any other business where you could do such a thing? Most councils made hay. You name it, they were recruiting it – equality officers, directors, chief executives, deputy chief executives – many on eye-watering salaries way out of line with the salaries paid in for the area.

Luckily for the residents in England, Mr Cameron has limited council tax rises to 1.5 per cent. In Wales, of course, the money that was given by Westminster to freeze council tax was pocketed by the WAG and in usual Labour fashion, taxes were increased.

I did write to them asking what they had done with this quite considerable sum. The response I got was that it was earmarked for other areas, but they refused to expand on this – probably frittered away on empire building or propping up a dead language or another ofmany of the crackpot schemes that Uncle Carwyn and the dross at the Bay cook up.

C Bradley, Caerleon Road, Newport