What does a 5.5 per cent council tax rise mean in real money? I'll tell you, 94p per week for the average household. Three postage stamps.

Set this against £436.20, the average weekly wage in the north- east in 2004. Of course, not everyone earns the average wage, which is why Liberal Democrats campaign for the council tax to be replaced by a fairer form of taxation that takes into account how much people earn.

Last year the Government announced a pre-election sweetener of £200 for pensioners. A one-off £4-a-week bribe, soon to disappear. It would be grotesque politicking if the city council were then to be capped for adding an extra 0.5 per cent to household bills (costing the council tax-payer 8.4p per week) above an arbitrary five per cent cap.

In spite of financial constraints, already discussed at length, there is much to be welcomed in this year's budget. Exempting low-emission vehicles from parking charges shows this council's determination to engage with climate change. I also welcome the

decision to face up to the issue of equal pay for women.

The failure of the Labour opposition to explain how they would organise the budget shows that while the wheel may still be spinning, the hamster is definitely dead. If they cannot agree among themselves in opposition, what would happen if they were in power?

I take pride that our society believes in local government and the concept of communities. I only wish that instead of talking percentages, we talked real money and set local tax at a level comparable to other local authorities so that we didn't have to cut services the vast majority of us, of all political parties, would far prefer not to cut.

Coun Christian Vassie,

City of York Council

Blake Court,

Wheldrake,

York.

Updated: 10:05 Saturday, March 04, 2006