CLLR Neil Barnes’ attempt to claim credit for the Conservative-Liberal Democrat budget on the ground that it rests on the “sensible management” of their own discredited administration could easily be mistaken for satire.

Cllr Barnes seems to have overlooked a few details, such as the £1 million Labour wasted on its botched Lendal Bridge trial, the £800,000 spent on blanket 20mph zones that only its activists wanted, the £300,000 down the pan on the over-ambitious older peoples’ homes projects and the £200,000 on the Grand Depart debacle.

Shall I go on? This doesn’t even begin to touch the over £2 million in Government grants on offer that Labour missed out on by not freezing council tax, nor its massive budget overruns on the Community Stadium. If this was Labour being “sensible”, we should all be thankful they weren’t reckless.

John Galvin, Conservative councillor for Bishopthorpe and Acaster Malbis