COUNCILLOR Mulla (Letters, May 14) must be in a different universe.

He seems to have forgotten we have just had an election and all politicians, whether they like it or not, have to live with the outcome of that election. The electors rejected Labour, did not express overwhelming support for the Conservatives, nor was there a groundswell of support for the Liberal Democrats.

The Liberal Democrats negotiated with both main parties to try to help form a stable administration. The parliamentary arithmetic made an arrangement with Labour difficult, even though many in our party would feel closer to Labour nationally.

Many senior Labour MPs came out publicly against such a move which ruled this out as an option. We therefore had to see if we could come to an arrangement with the Conservatives. This meant painful compromises.

Coun Mulla talks of Nick Clegg “selling his soul”. He fails to realise that we are in a new political climate. If we had failed to reach an agreement we would have precipitated a loss of confidence in the British government with severe financial repercussions. The Liberal Democrats have managed to get some of their key policies accepted by the Conservatives, on education, taxation and political reform.

He talks about the “cuts machine”. Again, he must be in a fantasy world. We all know cuts have to come. If we fail to do so, we could end up like Greece.

Having rejected ‘New Labour’ let us hope we are ready to accept a ‘New Politics’.

Coun David Foster Leader, Liberal Democrat Group, Blackburn with Darwen Council.