GREEN Party members protested outside County Hall in Trowbridge this morning against cuts proposed inWiltshire Council's budget, which councillors are due to ratify today.

The party's parliamentary candidate for the Chippenham constituency Tina Johnson said that a small council tax rise, which has been frozen for four years, would be acceptable if it protected the most vulnerable in society.

Miss Johnston was joined by the Green Party’s South West Wiltshire parliamentary candidate Phil Randle and campaigners holding banners stating “protect our most vulnerable” and “cuts to the bone”.

Miss Johnston said: “We are protesting against the severe cuts against the most vulnerable in our society, the sick, the old, the disabled, the homeless and the abused.

“A lot of people think it is down to the lack of funding from central government which is severely restricting the council’s ability to spend.

“There’s been four years since a council tax rise but if it’s at the expense of the most vulnerable that’s not acceptable.”

Wiltshire Council is looking to make £30million worth of savings over the next year as money received from central government falls from £119million to £103.8million.

Mr Randle said: “The Greens are an anti-austerity party, we need the make the point that it’s the poor who are suffering.”

“It’s really trying to move it from the one per cent who own the majority of the wealth to a more even distribution.

“The whole thing about the national debt and budget deficit is that the poor are paying for it, the need.

“It’s the majority who don’t have the wealth who are bailing out the minority who have the wealth.”

Our reporter Andrew Lawton will be at the meeting and sending regular updates via twitter.