Madam,

No rational person could disagree with the leading letter published in your columns of 26 November from two distinguished contributors to Ceredigion’s proud record in the field of public libraries, Messrs William Howells and Geraint Lewis, deploring the cuts taking place or threatened to the county’s libraries: and in particular the axe hovering over Llandysul.

However, it would also be very difficult for our hypothetical rational person to believe that Ceredigion Council, or any of its elected members, wants to cut the library service. To a degree in this letter, there is a tendency to blame the immediate decision-makers. This is exactly what the real culprits want. The real culprits? Mr Osborne, Mr Cameron and the whole of their ideologically fanatical, hard-right gov-ernment. They decide how much money every council in England is to receive. The Welsh government dis-tributes the money within Wales, but even if their settlement for Ceredigion was a little harsh, all Cardiff can do is divvy up what comes from Westminster. Council tax? This too is rigidly con-trolled by Westminster, and in any case covers a small percentage of local government expenditure.Mr Cameron has recently been caught complaining to the Conservative leader of his local council, Oxford-shire, one of the most af-fluent counties in England, about the savage cuts to local services there. Said Conservative leader pointed out to the Prime Minister what he appeared to be unaware of, the swingeing cuts imposed by Mr Cam-eron’s governments year after year on his authority. If chutzpah is defined as shooting your parents and then asking for sympathy because you’re an orphan, Mr Cameron appears to be taking it to new heights.Yes, do let us fervently defend local services. But in protesting at the cuts, let us point to those truly responsible, and never let the real culprits devolve the blame.

Yours etc

Robert Williams

Rhoshendre

Waunfawr

Aberystwyth.