The vote on January 23 at County Hall for unitary status by the Liberal-Democrat group and their hangers on is the biggest sell out of Cornwall, her people and her ratepayers in a long time. Spun out with the most disgraceful deceptions, it will long stand as an act of infamy and betrayal.

The so-called savings, if they are attainable, amount to less than one per cent of the total rates bill (county council, district council and town/parish councils). Far from cutting down on bureaucracy, the proposals will set up "community networks," effectively mini quangos in the making headed up by a county councillor.

Mark our words, these bodies will grow and grow as the "responsibilities" they take on grow. The services they intend to "devolve" to town and parish councils will enable them to avoid rate-capping whilst forcing these councils (which cannot be rate-capped) to massively increase their precept incurring the wrath of the public while the county councillors sit back and wash their hands.

A great deal of the blame for this must fall at the feet of Coun Biscoe who produced an amendment which gave these proposals a fig leaf of respectability by seeming to make it a step towards a Cornish Assembly. In reality, all the amendment did was give him the chance to ask to "have talks" or in other words, hobnob with a few junior ministers.

This is the most shameful betrayal of the 50,000 people who signed Mebyon Kernow's petition, the opening words of which stated Cornwall's position as a Celtic nation. How does he live with himself?

Perhaps a grain of comfort to him (and the others who voted for these proposals) is that councillors allowances will double to £18,000-a-year initially under these arrangements. The devil may be in the detail but the snouts are very firmly in the trough!

Councillor Stuart Cullimore, branch chairman; Coun Alan Sanders, branch vice-chairman; Coun Helene Cullimore, branch treasurer; Mike Champion, branch secretary; Mebyon Kernow, Camborne and Redruth