A LONE Liberal Democrat who supported plans to give Cambridgeshire county councillors a 25 per cent increase in their allowances has stood down from the Shadow Cabinet.

Councillor Geoff Heathcock found himself at odds with his party when councillors were asked to vote on allowances.

He said: “It was clear to me that all members of the Liberal Democrats were opposed to accepting the 25 per cent increase and therefore voted against. I did not share their view on this.

“It was with regret, therefore, that I decided to step down from my position on the Shadow Cabinet.”

Councillors awarded themselves a hefty pay increase last month but the proposed pay rise was halted after the editor of this newspaper, John Elworthy, questioned the legitimacy of the independent panel that had recommended the increase.

Earlier this month, the standards committee of Cambridgeshire County Council rejected the findings of the panel, saying the council’s pay rise decision was “defective”.

Cllr Heathcock was the Liberal Democrat spokesman for Health and a past chairman of the county council’s Health and Adult Social Care Scrutiny Committee. He will continue as group member on the Cambridge Fire Authority.

He handed over the health role to Councillor Caroline Shepherd.