Councillor Bill Stephenson seems to have leapt to the defence of Councillor Navin Shah, ['More spin from Mr Ashton', letters, October 16].
I am becoming very dissatisfied with the diet of spin and misinformation dished out by Labour politicians.
Fact: This Conservative administration had to rescue the council from the parlous state it was left in by Labour in May 2006. This was in spite of a record 20 per cent council tax hike in Labour's first year in power - that money was frittered away.
Fact: This Conservative administration had to find £9million savings in three months of taking power to avoid the effective bankruptcy of the council.
Fact: This Conservative administration has made savings of £36m over three years to get things back on track. We are now building reserves and coming within budget - two achievements beyond the Labour administration.
Fact: We have kept council tax to below inflation, a challenging task in the face of lousy grant settlements from this Labour government.
And a fact for the future, we are well on track to our goal of becoming one of the best London Councils by 2012.
So, Mr Stephenson, next time stick to the facts.
DAVID ASHTON
Leader Harrow Council
