Two Conservative chiefs took time off from their time off to vote in favour of hiking council tax for Gloucestershire residents.

Highways cabinet member Dom Morris (C, Fairford and Lechlade) and bus and education portfolio holder Philip Robinson (C, Mitcheldean) at Gloucestershire County Council are officially on a leave of absence and foregoing their cabinet role allowances.

Their duties are being shared by the council leader and deputy while they are “away”.

But both men were present in the chamber at Shire Hall on February 19 to vote in favour of the budget for 2025/26 which includes a tax hike of 4.99 per cent.

This means the average yearly tax bill for county services will rise by £79.83 to £1,679.65 from April.

During the meeting, Councillor Morris was sitting in his usual seat with the cabinet.

However, Cllr Robinson, who is on leave to “focus on various personal matters”, was not sitting near his cabinet colleagues.

Instead, he was sitting on the very edge of his group next to Independent Conservative Alastair Chambers and close to suspended Tory Nick Housden.

Neither of the two Tories took part in the more than five hour meeting other than to utter the words “against” and “for” when taking part in the recorded vote on the budget which included opposition amendments and the final proposal.

Liberal Democrat group leader Lisa Spivey (LD, South Cerney) said: “This is yet another indication that the Conservative administration is falling apart, with the leader now having to cover three cabinet positions.

“Highways, and public transport are two of the areas which affect our residents the most and they are not getting the attention they deserve.

“What is even more concerning is that there has been no explanation as to why these cabinet members are not currently fulfilling their duties, leading to wild speculation.”

Tories said Cllr Morris deserves “a bit of credit” for his leadership of highways and getting 200 per cent more potholes fixed in 2024 than 2022.

“Cllr Phillip Robinson is a valued and talented member of the Conservative group at Shire Hall and is simply taking some time off from his busy cabinet portfolio to focus on various personal matters,” a spokesperson said.

“We are forever grateful for him securing millions of pounds in investment for a new special educational needs and disabilities school in our county in this year’s Conservative budget at Shire Hall.

“We look forward to welcoming him back soon. Meanwhile, Dom is also taking time off, with the leader stepping in to cover his portfolio. And let’s give Dom’s leadership a bit of credit.

“We’ve made incredible progress Gloucestershire Conservatives have fixed 200 per cent more potholes in 2024 than in 2022.

“Our commitment to delivering for residents remains as strong as ever, and we are excited for Dom to step back into the fold.

“Meanwhile, the Lib Dems are more focused on splitting the county than delivering real results for residents. While they play politics, we deliver.”