NO sooner do you think that finally our elected representatives understand that profit making companies are unreliable, and by nature self-obsessed, but they are putting our community's future squarely back in their hands.

You would think that after the banking debacle councillors and the like, would give banks a wide berth, if not because they are not to be trusted, then because the general public has lost all faith in them.

Yet once again West Dunbartonshire Council has chosen to put their trust in the very people we know puts our community behind their profits.

This is not unique to West Dunbartonshire, however. Only this week Labour, Liberal Democrats and the Tories stopped the Scottish Government from enforcing additional tax on supermarkets.

This tax would have raised £30m, enough to cover some of the money we have lost in the budget from Westminster.

The Green Party did support the new tax plans, and whilst doing so highlighted that the three opposing parties have all received donations from stores that would be affected.

Moans cried out about attacking retail at a time of recession, but when Tesco reports an increase in profits in the last six months of 12.5 per cent, I am not exactly sympathetic.

So much for us all being in this together.

It seems that both nationally and locally it is those on lower income that are in it themselves.

Meanwhile private companies cash in on recession hit councils, such as our own, and our elected representatives hand over our children's future, willingly. If we count up how much money West Dunbartonshire Council has committed us to through private investment, the only thing we can guarantee is that private profits will continue to rise.

Now this will keep the politicians happy as it seems to be the only way they decide if we are out of recession yet.

It doesn't seem to matter that families are paying out more on less income, that services are being closed at an alarming rate or that our elderly are struggling to stay alive in their freezing homes.

Liverpool announced this week that they are pulling out of the Government's Big Society pilot.

The Immigration minister accused them of making a political point. Well duh!

I would have thought that was obvious.

If the Government won't give the councils the money to play the game, nobody can win. That is why we are seeing protests across the globe, except here. Why is that?

It was only a few years ago that lorries were slowing down on the roads on protest at fuel increases, we are now way past the level they were complaining about and still rising. People say "what is the point", but countries with 30-year dictators and oppressive regimes still see a point to protest, as we have seen in Egypt.

Mind you Tony Blair likes their president, thinks he is a force for good.

That may be because he stepped in to help out Bush with the war on Iraq.

The Egyptian president thought he was unpopular before, now he has Tony Blair's backing he is about as popular as a politician in a Citizen's Advice Bureau.