ALTHOUGH the Government has come in for a lot of criticism in recent months, in one aspect it wins top prize. That is for rubbing people up the wrong way.

Take the recent decision to give billions of pounds of our taxes to rich bankers, in an attempt to keep the money markets happy. At the same time, many local councils, who may lost millions because they invested in Icelandic banks (which means that the said councils may have to either increase the council tax or cut services) are informed by the Chancellor that basically they are on their own.

A CULVERHOUSE, Cavendish Street, Darwen.