I’M ALWAYS intrigued by the rationale used by politicians to convince us we should be content with salary increases below inflation, whilst insisting that any service they provide needs more.

The lack of any noticeable improvement in NHS performance despite massive increases in funding has proved the lie to that particular argument, but town halls throughout the land persist in offering it up as the only solution.

Last week it was Councillor Adrian Bradley’s turn to beat the drum for higher council tax when the new East Cheshire Authority takes over from the defunct Cheshire County Council.

The whole point of a unitary authority was that it would be far more cost effective than the old two-tier sytem.

In fact, MBC leader Wesley Fitzgerald assured us there would be no need for ANY council tax increase in the new unitary authority, but even before it takes control Coun Bradley and his Liberal Democrats are pleading for more.

As a taxpayer, I’m done with ‘more’. I’m looking for ‘less’. We’ve tried ‘more’ and it doesn’t work.

There’s an assumption among politicians that more money equals better services. Well, look what happened to our hospitals. After doubling NHS funding in ten years, we were forced to fight tooth and nail to stop the closure of essential services. That’s what ‘more’ did for us.

A few years ago Cheshire Police pleaded for a 19 per cent increase in county funding and got it. What improvements did you see?

If ‘more’ works, why are parents fighting to prevent the closure of local schools?

Where public money is concerned ‘more’ should always be followed by ‘waste’.

Take a look at that fancy reception on the ground floor of Macclesfield Town Hall. The paint’s barely dry and it’s about to become redundant. Who paid for that?

When the new East Cheshire Authority clicks into place we’ll only need one town hall, one chief exec (preferably one that works Fridays), one chief planning officer and one council chamber. So if there aren’t significant savings to be made, then something is seriously wrong.

I’d like to count those savings before councillors start pleading poverty. I don’t want another Oliver Twist council constantly asking for more. This is a genuine opportunity for dynamic change.

I doubt Coun Bradley’s Lib Dems will feature large in this new assembly.

The views on this page are those of Vic Barlow and not necessarily those of the Express