I PREDICT a storm is heading this way – and I caution all of our councillors to start taking shelter right now from the howling fury of the public. If they think things have been bad recently, they may well be in for a shock.

You will recall some readers were outraged when the county council sent its glossy newsletter to them during the height of the snow.

The front cover read ‘TRUE GRIT – Buckinghamshire gets ready for winter’. What enraged residents was that this magazine was about the only public service many of them could see at the time. Vast numbers of roads were ungritted, bins (a district council responsibility) were unemptied and the world stood still.

But for those of you who believe True Grit was the most annoying piece of unintentional council irony of all time, I have news for you: You ain't seen nothing yet. I fear for the sanity of the public when they receive the letter informing them council tax is increasing by around two per cent.

Councillors will say this is reasonable given lack of Government grant, but householders need only look to nearby Windsor & Maidenhead which has announced a four per cent tax CUT. Interestingly, this is a unitary authority – something resisted in Bucks.

Residents will no doubt want to know how a rise can be justified when council services seem so fragile at present.

I predict the current batch of bad news events for councils in Bucks is the beginning of the end of the current three-tier system of local government here. And not a moment too soon.