LAST week’s council meeting was less about pre-Christmas cheer and more a study in the definitions of "loud" and "soft".

Councillors Martin Rooney, Jonathan McColl and George Black offered a lesson in what yelling sounds like to make entrenched political points.

Meanwhile Cllrs Marie McNair, Gail Robertson, Jim Finn, Hazel Sorrell and John Mooney didn’t say a word in almost four hours except "agreed" during votes or somewhat quietly to their neighbours.

Other members were less subtle while opponents were speaking, such as Cllrs David McBride and Rooney, and Black and Jim Bollan, who continued to throw verbal hand grenades back and forth - admittedly nothing new for West Dunbartonshire Council.

Even the public benches, unusually full at the start of the meeting and still with some committed residents sticking through to the end, had not-infrequent bouts of applause. The clapping came largely backing Cllrs Black and Bollan as fellow members of the West Dunbartonshire Community Party, or from union representatives expressing their support for an anti-cuts agenda.

In tribute to the new fact-less reality of American politicians, there were conflicting and frequently angry disputes about what happened at meetings in recent months, even about which councillors voted for what up to 20 years ago. Everyone could agree everything was the Tory's fault, with Labour adding a boot in for the SNP in Edinburgh, the SNP blaming Labour in West Dunbartonshire, and Cllrs Black and Bollan blaming pretty much everyone.

You'd never know there was an election coming in May.