I HAVE been away on holiday visiting family for Christmas, which was most enjoyable, but catching up with the Reviews that have accumulated on the hall carpet, particularly this week's copy dated January 16, fill me with despair, disgust, and bewilderment as to the activities of our local government councillors.

I say "enough is enough", and the juvenile shenanigans must cease now, and the pouting, stamping of feet, and throwing of toys out of the pram must stop immediately.

All district councillors must spend a few minutes looking up their "job specs", their position as a responsible (adult) representative of the people, and their commitment to the electorate when they became elected.

Local government is really about looking after the interest of the people, should not be self-serving, and any political party interests kept away from the council chamber.

My advice to the elected Forest of Dean District councillors is as follows:

•When you are elected under your own mandate (manifesto), it is absolutely necessary that you stick to that commitment. If you can't handle it, and have a "hot flush", and decide to change your position, such as a member of the Conservative group in council, your only option is to quit and re-apply in another election procedure. Several councillors have changed to Independents recently, and are now in a non-viable position as they have changed their position on the council without going back to the electorate under whose mandate they are obligated to follow. The local government laws must be changed to stop this mis-representation to the public.

•All elected councillors must follow their commitment to serve the electorate, and to fully participate in the management of the council.

•The current cabinet system is constantly being criticized by various councillors, and I would point out that the cabinet is not a "dictatorship", and is only a method of doing business. I presume it was put in place by a majority of the 48 councillors, so every councillor is obligated to put 100 per cent effort into making it work. It has been in place for around two years, and if it is not working properly I would suggest that all 48 councillors review this working procedure and come up with one that works. Perhaps a minimum majority of 60 per cent should apply to any decision making, as per a regularly used requirement in business.

Marion Winship is not "the cabinet", she happens to be the nominated councillor set up by the full membership, and all councillors are obligated to work together with her to ensure that the council is managed as efficiently as possible. Anyone that doesn't want to engage in proper management processes should resign and let the electorate bring in a capable person.

•As mentioned above, the revenue budget is a very serious matter, needing everyone's full support to balance the finances. The objective should be a minimum reduction of 10 per cent of the total, with a preliminary target of 15 per cent, and to freeze, or reduce council taxes. All councillors have to participate, if a meaningful result is to be achieved. It will be painful, but this is a national problem that everyone is suffering from, and elderly taxpayers are "dying on the vine". The planned £400,000 spend should be put on the back burner for a year or two, as there is no immediate return for the investment. Council payrolls have been inflated by the wasteful Labour government, which is still spending as I type this letter. Staff will have to go, and this should be achieved by sorting out expenditure into categories, such as 'vital,' 'probably needed,' and 'nice to have' when there is plenty of money about. The council is broke, and must be financially fixed. As 25 per cent of the council tax goes towards paying for gold-plated pensions, which the poor taxpayers cannot support, staff will have to be transferred from the council payroll onto private sector jobs, or whatever Westminster is prepared to offer. That's life, I'm afraid. Businesses are failing at an unsustainable rate, and the public sector must contribute.

One final word. Many cases exist whereby councillors are sitting simultaneously on more than one council. Each layer of government is supposed to operate independently of the others, so there is obviously a conflict of interest, and I would like to see this practice made illegal, or banned. – Ralph Perry, Lydney.