MOST people would rather have lower water bills than receive an occasional free newsletter from the water company. And undoubtedly, most people in Cornwall would rather enjoy better services - or lower council tax - than see their money spent on an in-house newspaper from the Liberal Democrat led county council.

But the Liberal Democrats in Cornwall need their own version of Pravda, because the truth makes such uncomfortable reading.

On council tax - despite cuts in some services, the bills keep going up. People living in the Liberal Democrat led Carrick district council area pay the biggest bills in Cornwall.

On adult social care and children's services - many people, as one of your letter writers last week, are affected by Liberal Democrat cuts and charges for help with everyday tasks such as cooking meals and bathing. Before the latest cuts to adult social care, the 2007 performance assessment shows that adult and children's services in Cornwall are now "only at minimum requirements." In 2005, before the Liberal Democrats gained overall control, the council was assessed as "performing well" and "consistently above minimum requirements" in these vital care services.

The 2007 report also assesses Cornwall's fire services as "only at minimum requirements" and yet the Liberal Democrat led county council is proposing cuts most people find totally unacceptable to 24-hour fire stations in Falmouth and Camborne.

On affordable housing - regional plans say areas with a great need for affordable housing should make two out of three new homes affordable. But local Liberal Democrats' Carrick plans for the development of Truro over the next 20 years say only one in three new homes will be affordable. I suppose you could call that half-marks if it weren't for the fact that, last year, no new homes for rent at all were completed in Falmouth. Wasn't affordable housing one of the issues Julia Goldsworthy, MP, said she'd do something about, before she decided not to stand in Falmouth again?

On recycling and waste management - Liberal Democrats on the new county council missed a golden opportunity to go for greener waste disposal methods than their incinerator plans. Liberal Democrat led Carrick district council boasts it is the best authority for recycling in Cornwall, but those of us who live here know the restricted list of items Carrick is prepared to collect from our doorsteps, which means we send plastic tubs and punnets, which can be recycled, to landfill every week.

Will uncomfortable facts like these make it out of the local Liberal Democrats' official ministry of information and onto the pages of their council newspaper? I for one doubt that they will.

Charlotte MacKenzie, Cornwall Terrace, Truro