YOU may be interested to read this letter which I have sent to the chief executive of Dorset County Council.

I am writing to you to complain about the contents of a magazine, circulated by the county council, entitled Your Dorset.

Page 18 of this publication is entirely devoted to profiles of what you refer to as the ‘cabinet’, which body we are told, ‘is at the heart of decision-making’ of the authority.

There are photographs of members, together with statements from each of them describing how they believe ‘passionately’ in serving the needs of the people, or are ‘passionate’ about community involvement, or ‘passionate’ about giving young people the best possible start in life.

These statements are curiously like the sort of thing we observe in election addresses. Indeed they probably have been lifted from election addresses. And strangely enough, all these members are Tory.

Of course any political party is entitled to print such stuff but not at the ratepayers’ expense.

No doubt other members, of all parties, might reasonably complain that they too are working for their communities but are not give such invidious publicity.

Leaders of the opposition parties will not be worth their salt unless they protest about this matter.

And while they are at it, they might also call into question just how ‘passionate’ about serving the community these cabinet members are, considering that, as we learn from an item tucked away on Page 17, they intend now to charge families £460 a year per child for a seat on a school bus, a sum wildly beyond the abilities of many families in Weymouth and Portland to pay.

Should this undue publicity to certain members be repeated, and especially at public expense, I for one, will have to think about complaining to the Local Government Ombudsman that my Council Tax is being misused. I await your comments.

Alan Chedzoy

Weymouth