ONLY one councillor has asked a question at a meeting in more than two years.

Since the local elections in May 2015, in which Labour lost two seats and UKIP three, all but one Bracknell Forest councillor has been Conservative.

And in the two years and two months following the vote, only Labour's Mary Temperton has submitted a formal question during a full council meeting.

Richard Francis, a Bracknell based businessman, questioned the way the Council operates at a meeting on Wednesday.

As well as asking how many pages of reports had been redacted by the council, Mr Francis aired his concerns regarding the silence of councillors.

"I am a member of the Lib-Dems. I used to be a Conservative, but I became a bit disillusioned," the 47 year-old explained the day after the meeting.

"Particularly on the local side. I got very concerned because it appears we have a cabinet run council.

"This isn't party political. It's just not healthy for a borough council to have a cabinet style set up where everything is done behind closed doors.

"Some councillors seem to be afraid to speak out."

After confirming that 230 of 2,166 pages of reports were kept from public eyes since 2015, leader of the Council Paul Bettison OBE said: "The council is very careful to include as much as it can within the open agenda.

"We are only moved to consider the item without the public presence when it is key to discuss exempted information."

As for why Cllr Temperton was the only one to speak up, Cllr Bettison said: "My colleagues have been kept very well informed.

"We have a complicated system here where normal members have more powers than any other council in the nation.

"It allows for every member in the council to feel that they have input."