AT a full Gloucestershire County Council meeting, the Tory/Lib/Lab groups voted to continue the system of Political Assistants. This means that they enjoy the services of an assistant, paid for by the tax payers of Gloucestershire, to do research on their behalf to further their own cause.

Wages for this project have been calculated at over £1,000,000 from when the practice started in 2002 until the end of this council (in 2017). This figure can be doubled if one allows for Employers NIC, office costs, insurance, back up staff, pension costs etc.

There is no practical benefit to the Council Tax payers.

It should also be noted that only about a third of other County Councils allow this waste of money.

All three UKIP Councillors, Richard Leppington, Colin Guyton and Alan Preest, together with three Independents voted against. Labour's Paul Mcmahon and the Green abstained.

Forest residents may wish to write to their Labour and Tory Councillors to ask how, at a time of cutbacks to front line services, this expenditure can be justified.

– Councillor Richard Leppington.