HOW can our underperforming Malvern Hills district councillors justify the large increases voted for in the meeting on February 25?

Most of our Conservative councillors and some of their Liberal allies voted to award very generous allowance increases to their leader and his deputy.

Percentage increases of 13 per cent to the leader and a staggering 70 per cent to his deputy. Compare this to the reported one per cent awarded to the rank and file council workers.

The performance of the council has been nothing short of disastrous during the last eighteen months or so.

Several planning issues have proved very costly and resulted in the proposed transferring of future planning issues to be decided by a government department.

Add to this the wheelie bin re-introduction fiasco and the reported malfunctions at the refuse collection depot, both of which have caused considerable controversy and expense to the long-suffering ratepayer.

Our councillors should have taken the same stance as the Worcester councillors who in this time of cost cutting voted unanimously against taking an increase in their allowances.

So come on, Councillors Hughes and Swinburn, do the honourable thing and decline the increases – it is not too late.

RT & SD Jones

Malvern Link