Two cheers for Jeff and Helen Osborn for celebrating a zero increase in Trowbridge Town Council’s element of the council tax.

The Liberal Democrats have increased this for years to become the highest of the west Wiltshire towns, even exceeding Liberal Democrat Bradford on Avon.

In this run up to the Unitary Council elections in June, some LibDem candidates are acknowledging their extravagance and are now trying to out-Tory the Tories in saying that they wish to use your money more efficiently.

Unfortunately their propaganda is flawed, facts are confused with fiction.

The Conservative and Independent town councils in west Wiltshire have good services but much lower spending than Trowbridge, check this fact in your council tax booklet.

LibDems want a local income tax to replace the council tax, they say it would be fairer.

It would certainly give them more money to spend, but be more expensive to collect, to whom is that fairer?

In Melksham, LibDem literature tells us that West Wiltshire District Council increased the council tax this year. Wrong, there was no increase, check the facts.

Also a LibDem town councillor voted to increase the Melksham rate, Conservatives opposed this and held the town tax at last years level, check the facts.

They attack the Conservative County Council for a 3.5 per cent increase, but fail to say that this is because of the lowest support ever for Wiltshire from central government, check the facts.

In proposing a 0 per cent increase for Wiltshire, would the LibDems have policies that cut services, or perhaps cut staff pay, or perhaps made cuts in the pension provision for local government. Which would they choose? Richard Wiltshire Conservative West Wiltshire District Councillor and Melksham Town councillor