IT IS not as if the Liberal Democrats of Pendle were showing their nasty, petulant face for the first time last night when they plunged the running of the council into chaos.

After all, the verdict of the Tory group leader on their style while in control in the past four years - and, surely, of the voters too, who stripped them of power a fortnight ago - was that they had been "ill-mannered and acted like spoilt children."

But they certainly reached new heights of arrogance last night when they spat vengeance at the people of Pendle for not electing enough of them to carry on as before.

In a display of pique, worthy more of a nursery than a council chamber, they refused to take charge of the authority despite them remaining the largest party.

Evidently, the only coalition they can make is with their own egos.

Yet, would they let Labour, the next biggest party, run the show instead?

No way! They prefer that spite and confusion prevail.

So how are the taxpayers of Pendle to be served as a result of this nihilist nonsense?

Amazingly, these loony Libs think the leaderless council can be run by chaos.

For, as a result of their disgraceful antics, the upshot is that no-one has real charge.

Instead they, Labour and Tories are now expected to manage matters on a turn-and-turn-about basis that changes five times a year.

So, in the light of the fudge emerging from last night's seven-hour shouting match, the people of Pendle get not government, but only an assortment of pandemonium and stalemate.

This is disgraceful. Instead of running services for the public the Liberal Democrat councillors are playing games

They should realise their responsibilities to the people to whom they have a duty and who they are supposed to represent.

If they don't accept that they must find consensus with the other parties on the council, then they are begging the voters to sort them out in no uncertain fashion at the next elections and make them a real minority party.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.