Hertfordshire Liberal Democrats have reacted angrily to the settlement imposed on them by the government – a 15% cut in grant next year and another 12% in the year after.

Malcolm Cowan, Liberal Democrat spokesperson on resources, said: ‘We were used to south-east England being badly treated under Labour, now we are facing more of the same under the leadership of Tory local government Minister Eric Pickles.

‘We expected councils would be treated badly when he rushed to settle with the Treasury in the Comprehensive Spending Review and as a result fared worse than any other spending area. Now we find that counties like Herts are suffering the biggest cuts, both this year and next.

‘Eric Pickles seems to have been seduced into believing that councils just provide jobs for bureaucrats, when in fact they are providing important front-line services like help for the elderly, supporting vulnerable children, road maintenance, the fire service and working with schools. We believe the council can go further in cutting costs, but there is only so far you can go in being more efficient, before you start hitting vulnerable people.’