So we have now seen the Conservatives’ real commitment to consultation and listening to the public.

The garden waste consultation saw unprecedented levels of response, with just six per cent of respondents voting in favour of introducing additional charges for garden waste collections.

Wiltshire Conservatives’ response to this was to ignore all that the public said and announce the imposition of a new garden waste tax of £40 per household across the county, the equivalent of a 3.3 per cent rise in council tax.

Coupled with a shopping list of cuts including concessionary travel, support the arts, the popular Wiltshire Hopper bus and scrapping the Wiltshire Music Service, this is a truly horrific slap in the face to the people of Wiltshire.

This new garden waste tax will see many people stop using their garden waste bins resulting in an increase in landfill usage and a drop in recycling which goes against the core aims of Wiltshire Council.

I sincerely hope that the administration will reconsider their position and give the people of Wiltshire what they voted for rather than a huge hike in their council bills.

Cllr Jon Hubbard, Leader, Wiltshire Council Liberal Democrat Group.