WELL, we now have proof positive that what councillors agreed at a meeting was not what was enacted consequently.

At the June meeting of Malvern Hills District Council, in recommending sharing a chief executive with Wychavon District Council, the deputy leader, Cllr Swinburn, assured councillors that there was no proposal to share a senior management team.

He rounded on opposition councillors for upsetting staff with such "scaremongering" and said the only proposal on the table was one of sharing a chief executive with Wychavon and appointing a deputy.

That was the premise on which councillors voted and that was what they agreed.

However, the council's application for government funding for the move says: "The second part of our bid is for a further £200,000 to cover severance costs of other senior managers during 2014/15 as we move towards a single management team."

So, either Cllr Swinburn deliberately and knowingly lied, or he deliberately and knowingly allowed a bid to go forward that did not reflect the decision of council.

Either way, what councillors agreed is not what they – and we – are going to get.

So much for democracy!

Caroline Carver

Malvern